WORK AND PENSIONS

New Deal (Nottingham)

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of the new deal in Nottingham, North.

Jane Kennedy: The new deal has succeeded in helping more than 1.2 million people into work, including more than 3,000 people in Nottingham, North. It has helped to reduce long-term adult unemployment by 82 per cent. and long-term youth unemployment by 68 per cent. in my hon. Friend's constituency.

Attendance Allowance (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Coventry receive attendance allowance.

Maria Eagle: Some 8,200 people in Coventry were receiving attendance allowance on 31 August 2004.

Income-related Benefits

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the latest take-up rates for income-related benefits.

Malcolm Wicks: Office for National Statistics data for the period 2002–03 were published on 8 February. The figures predate the introduction of pension credit. Nearly 1.8 million households were getting the minimum income guarantee in October 2003, but by December last year, over 2.6 million households—over 3.2 million individuals—were getting pension credit.
	The latest departmental estimates for pension credit show that, in 2004–05, take-up is over 80 per cent. for those on the guarantee element, and could be as high as 90 per cent. for single women pensioners entitled to the guarantee element.

Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of services in Welsh provided by third parties acting on behalf of his Department.

Jane Kennedy: DWP has adopted the principle that in the conduct of public business and the administration of justice in Wales it will treat the English and Welsh languages on a basis of equality. Some services are delivered through contracts with third parties or partnerships involving other Government Departments or the Voluntary Sector. In all such cases we ensure that our contractors and partners understand and abide by the provisions of the DWP Welsh Language Scheme. An assessment of services in Welsh forms part of the Department's standard contract monitoring processes and any failings identified will be dealt with under the terms of the individual contract.

Child Support

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the operation of the Child Support Agency.

Chris Pond: We have acknowledged problems with the new IT system. The agency is working with EDS to resolve the problems. Work to stabilise the system is under way and it has already brought about improvements. We expect the remedial work to be completed later this year.
	However, it is important that we remember that it is the responsibility of parents to support their children and there is nothing to stop them making their own arrangements to do so.

Departmental Staff (Wales)

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received from (a) the National Assembly for Wales and (b) local authorities in Wales regarding the proposed closure of his Department's offices in Wales.

Jane Kennedy: We have received a number of representations from Assembly Members and local authorities.
	But the service we provide is not just about offices; and our innovative approach means that our customers, including sick and disabled people, no longer have to visit an office to access many of our services.
	Massive investment of over £2 billion over four years since 2002 means that we can deliver more responsive services with fewer offices and with a more modern approach.

Incapacity Benefit

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his plans for reforms of incapacity benefit; and what estimate he has made of the number of people who will find work as a result of his plans.

Maria Eagle: We have recently set out our plans for fundamental reform of incapacity benefits in our Five Year Strategy. We want to create a new framework of support for people who can return to work and offer greater security to those who face the greatest obstacles to doing so.
	Our aim is to have the key elements of the package in place by 2008, but this will be dependent on being able to roll out Pathways to Work nationally first. We cannot yet make an estimate of the numbers who find work as a result of these reforms.

Incapacity Benefit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proposed changes to the linking rules for existing receivers of incapacity benefit formed the basis of his Department's five year strategy.

Maria Eagle: As set out in the Department's five year strategy we are taking the opportunity to review a range of aspects of the linking rules with a view to improving their effectiveness in encouraging people on incapacity benefits to try a return to work.
	We are considering proposals for change from a number of sources from both inside and outside the Department. We have agreed to look at the feasibility of making the incapacity benefit linking rules more flexible, for example by allowing automatic registration and a faster return to work after using the linking rules. We aim to make them simpler, less restrictive and easier to understand and use.

Employment

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his Department's progress towards full employment.

Jane Kennedy: Since 1997 the number of people in work in the UK has risen by more than 2 million and the employment rate to 74.9 per cent., one of the highest figures on record.
	However, we aim to go further—our long-term aspiration is to reach an employment rate of 80 per cent.—by maintaining economic stability and building on the success of our welfare reforms.

Access to Work Programme

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received (a) full and (b) partial grants from the Access to Work programme in each year since its introduction; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Access to Work is a specialist disability programme which was introduced in 1994. It provides practical advice and support to help disabled people enter or stay in paid employment. The support is aimed at overcoming work related obstacles resulting from disability. It does this through a system of grants towards the cost of providing support. The amount of support available to any individual will depend on their work related needs resulting from disability. Grants made under the programme are not specifically categorised as full" or partial"
	Information on the number of people helped each year since Access to Work was introduced is in the table.
	
		Number of people helped each year since Access to Work was introduced
		
			  New beneficiaries Existing beneficiaries Total beneficiaries 
		
		
			 1994–95 7,669 2,725 10,394 
			 1995–96 9,579 4,098 13,677 
			 1996–97 3,639 6,480 10,119 
			 1997–98 5,167 7,658 12,825 
			 1998–99 6,326 9,768 16,094 
			 1999–2000 9,786 10,943 20,729 
			 2000–01 12,318 13,569 25,887 
			 2001–02 13,137 19,661 32,798 
			 2002–03 15,199 21,407 36,606 
			 2003–04 15,433 19,411 34,844 
			 Total 98,253 115,720 213,973 
		
	
	Note:
	New beneficiaries are people who receive Access to Work Assistance for the first time ever within the financial year. Existing beneficiaries are people who received Access to Work assistance in a previous financial year, and continue to receive financial support. Existing beneficiaries in 1994–95 are people who were transferred to Access to Work from other programmes.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus internal Management Information

Benefits

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioner households received (a) free TV licences, (b) winter fuel payment, (c) pension credit and (d) council tax benefit in (i) Lancashire and (ii)Chorley in 2003–04.

Malcolm Wicks: TV Licensing, which administers free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, is not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, the number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over with entitlement to the winter fuel payment in 2003–04 was 63,590 in Lancashire and 5,065 in the Chorley constituency. These households would be eligible for free TV licences.
	Information on the number of households in Lancashire and Chorley that received a winter fuel payment in 2003–04 is in the Library.
	The most recent numbers of households and individuals receiving pension credit in Lancashire and Chorley are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Households Individuals 
		
		
			 Lancashire 54,275 66,270 
			 Chorley 3,920 4,795 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
	2.Pension credit—individuals comprise claimants and partners and may contain a small number of partners aged under 60.
	3.Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS directory.
	4.The Pension credit figures are for December 2004.
	5.Council tax benefit (CTB) data for pensioners can only be taken from an annual 1 per cent. sample. To provide these statistics at a lower than regional level would be subject to a high degree of sampling variation. Therefore county level figures for Lancashire are not available.
	6.Parliamentary constituency level statistics are not available for CTB, therefore Chorley data cannot be supplied.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre.
	The information on council tax benefit (CTB) is not available in the format requested.

Benefits

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in the Bridgewater constituency were in receipt of means-tested benefits in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available.
	Income-related benefits include income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit and jobseekers allowance (income based). Housing benefit and council tax benefit figures are not available at constituency level.
	Income support, jobseekers allowance (income based) and pension credit (from October 2003) data are available by parliamentary constituency as shown in the following table.
	
		Thousand
		
			 IS/JSA(IB)/PC(GC) beneficiaries aged 60 and over Bridgewater parliamentary constituency 
		
		
			 May1997 3.1 
			 August 2004 3.5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures are based on 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. samples and subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	2.IS/JSA(IB) figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3.Pension credit is guarantee credit only.
	4.Beneficiaries are all claimants and partners aged 60 or over. This includes claimants aged under 60 where there is a partner aged 60 or over.

New Deal

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost is of a job obtained through the new deal since it commenced.

Jane Kennedy: The average cost of helping an individual into work through new deal is £3,258.

New Deal

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what role the new deal is playing in north-east Wales in progress towards his targets for full employment.

Jane Kennedy: The new deal has played a vital role in achieving one of the highest employment rates on record. Nearly 9,000 people have been helped into work through the new deal in north-east Wales, including more than 1,500 in Wrexham.
	The employment rate in north-east Wales has risen by more than 6 percentage points since 1997 and by over 8percentage points to nearly 77 per cent. in my hon. Friend's constituency.

New Deal

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people living in the Greater London area have participated in the new deal for disabled people.

Jane Kennedy: The available information is that a total of 8,940 people in the London Jobcentre Plus Region have started the new deal for disabled people since the start of the programme in July 2001.

Pensions

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the financial assistance that will be available to people who have been affected by the wind-up of their pension scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer to the written ministerial statement on the Financial Assistance Scheme, I gave on 22 February 2005, Official Report, column 16WS.

Pensions

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pension service surgeries have been (a) cancelled and (b) earmarked for cancellation in Scotland as part of his Department's efficiency programme.

Malcolm Wicks: No local service information points, previously termed surgeries, have been cancelled nor are there any current plans to cancel local service information points as a direct result of the Department's efficiency programme.
	At a local level, information points are subject to constant evaluation to ensure their viability and effectiveness. This means that information points may be withdrawn or be relocated depending on changing demands in the locality. The fact that an information point is useful today does not mean that it always will be. This is not new, is not related to the efficiency challenge and will continue to be a feature of the Pension Service local service operations.
	The Pension Service will continue to meet the needs of customers by providing a wider range of different service offerings within information points (either on our own or in conjunction with our partners) supported by the telephony service offered by our pension centres and the face to face service offered by local service and partners.

Pensions

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women received a state pension on the basis of their own contributions in (a) 1997 and (b) each year since 2001, broken down by region and county; how many of these pensions were (i) 50 per cent. or less, (ii) 75 per cent. or less and (iii) 75 per cent. or more of the basic pension rate.

Malcolm Wicks: The available information is set out in the tables. Information prior to 1999 cannot be broken down by region or county.
	
		Numbers of female state pension recipients receiving a state pension based wholly or partly on their own national insurance contributions by government office region (GOR), county or unitary authority as at: March 2000; March 2001; March 2002; March 2003 and March 2004 -- Thousands
		
			  March 2000 March 2001 March 2002 March 2003 March 2004 
		
		
			 North East GOR 169.4 174.9 180.1 184.6 190.9 
			 Darlington 6.7 6.8 7.0 7.1 7.5 
			 Hartlepool 6.8 7.0 7.1 7.3 7.5 
			 Middlesbrough 8.5 9.0 9.2 9.3 9.5 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 9.3 9.4 9.7 10.1 10.7 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 10.6 10.9 11.1 11.8 12.2 
			 Durham 31.0 32.3 33.5 34.7 36.4 
			 Northumberland 19.6 20.4 21.5 22.5 24.0 
			 Tyne and Wear 76.9 79.1 80.9 81.9 83.3 
			 North West GOR 498.9 509.3 522.9 536.2 551.9 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 10.4 10.2 10.3 10.3 10.4 
			 Blackpool 13.1 13.7 14.1 14.3 14.6 
			 Halton 7.2 7.4 7.6 8.1 8.5 
			 Warrington 12.2 12.6 13.1 13.5 14.2 
			 Cheshire 47.7 49.4 51.3 53.2 55.8 
			 Cumbria 35.1 36.6 38.0 39.2 40.8 
			 Greater Manchester 178.8 180.9 185.0 188.6 192.9 
			 Lancashire 89.2 91.1 93.8 97.1 101.3 
			 Merseyside 105.3 107.6 109.7 111.8 113.4 
			   
			 Yorkshire and the Humber GOR 315.9 323.9 332.4 344.0 356.2 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 22.4 22.7 23.9 25.2 26.8 
			 Kingston upon Hull 13.9 14.3 14.7 14.9 15.4 
			 North East Lincolnshire 10.5 10.9 11.1 11.5 11.6 
			 North Lincolnshire 9.2 9.7 10.0 10.7 11.3 
			 York 11.6 12.0 12.3 12.9 13.5 
			 North Yorkshire 40.2 41.5 43.4 45.2 47.0 
			 South Yorkshire 73.4 75.4 77.7 81.1 84.4 
			 West Yorkshire 134.7 137.3 139.3 142.4 146.4 
			 North Yorkshire 315.9 323.9 332.4 344.0 356.2 
			 South Yorkshire 22.4 22.7 23.9 25.2 26.8 
			   
			 East Midlands GOR 255.7 265.0 273.6 285.2 300.0 
			 Derby 13.4 13.8 14.0 14.6 14.9 
			 Leicester 16.1 16.3 16.6 16.6 16.8 
			 Nottingham 15.0 15.6 15.6 15.7 16.2 
			 Rutland 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.7 3.0 
			 Derbyshire 42.7 44.3 45.7 47.9 50.8 
			 Leicestershire 38.9 39.9 41.7 43.3 45.7 
			 Lincolnshire 35.7 36.7 37.8 39.4 42.1 
			 Northamptonshire 46.2 48.0 49.5 52.3 55.2 
			 Nottinghamshire 255.7 265.0 273.6 285.2 300.0 
			   
			 West Midlands GOR 342.8 353.3 364.4 378.7 393.1 
			 County of Herefordshire 12.5 13.0 13.5 14.2 15.0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 19.6 19.8 20.1 20.5 20.9 
			 Telford and Wrekin 7.7 7.9 8.2 8.9 9.5 
			 Shropshire 19.6 20.4 21.4 22.2 23.3 
			 Staffordshire 51.4 53.9 56.3 59.4 62.0 
			 Warwickshire 33.4 34.1 35.8 37.9 39.2 
			 West Midlands 163.5 167.4 170.8 175.5 180.8 
			 Worcestershire 35.0 36.8 38.2 40.1 42.5 
			   
			 East GOR 340.8 351.5 365.6 381.0 396.2 
			 Luton 8.8 9.3 9.6 9.7 9.9 
			 Peterborough 8.9 9.1 9.5 9.8 10.0 
			 Southend-on-Sea 11.4 11.5 12.1 12.7 12.8 
			 Thurrock 6.9 7.1 7.4 7.7 7.9 
			 Bedfordshire 22.0 22.8 23.6 24.5 25.8 
			 Cambridgeshire 30.1 31.3 32.9 34.6 36.5 
			 Essex 85.4 88.1 91.6 96.1 100.5 
			 Hertfordshire 62.9 64.1 65.8 68.2 70.9 
			 Norfolk 59.5 62.0 64.9 67.4 69.8 
			 Suffolk 45.0 46.2 48.2 50.3 52.2 
			   
			 London GOR 378.6 385.1 390.8 396.4 404.7 
			 Inner London—West 47.9 48.0 48.0 48.5 49.3 
			 Inner London—East 76.9 77.7 77.1 77.3 78.7 
			 Outer London—East and North East 92.7 95.1 97.0 98.7 101.0 
			 Outer London—South 69.6 71.8 74.0 75.5 77.2 
			 Outer London—West and North West 91.5 92.5 94.8 96.4 98.5 
			   
			 South East GOR 515.1 531.8 547.3 570.7 594.1 
			 Bracknell Forest 5.0 5.2 5.2 5.5 6.0 
			 Brighton and Hove 17.6 17.8 17.7 17.5 17.6 
			 Isle of Wight 11.5 12.0 12.5 13.0 13.6 
			 Medway 12.8 13.4 13.5 14.2 14.8 
			 Milton Keynes 8.9 9.4 9.9 10.5 10.8 
			 Portsmouth 11.7 12.0 12.4 12.2 12.2 
			 Reading 7.3 7.4 7.4 7.8 8.1 
			 Slough 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.5 
			 Southampton 11.1 11.2 11.2 11.4 12.0 
			 West Berkshire 7.6 7.5 7.7 8.4 9.3 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 8.4 8.5 8.5 8.9 9.5 
			 Wokingham 7.2 7.5 7.7 8.1 8.6 
			 Buckinghamshire 28.2 29.3 29.9 31.2 32.9 
			 East Sussex 43.9 45.0 46.6 48.2 49.6 
			 Hampshire 76.6 79.9 82.6 87.6 91.8 
			 Kent 90.2 93.3 96.0 100.6 104.3 
			 Oxfordshire 31.8 33.0 34.1 36.1 38.0 
			 Surrey 68.6 70.7 73.1 76.0 79.2 
			 West Sussex 61.6 63.6 65.8 68.1 70.0 
			   
			 South West GOR 357.3 369.3 382.8 398.4 415.4 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 11.6 11.9 12.3 12.5 13.0 
			 Bournemouth 14.1 14.2 14.0 13.9 14.4 
			 Bristol 22.7 23.1 23.5 24.3 24.9 
			 North Somerset 14.9 15.2 16.1 16.6 17.6 
			 Plymouth 15.3 16.0 16.4 17.1 17.6 
			 Poole 11.0 10.9 11.3 11.8 12.2 
			 South Gloucestershire 14.1 14.7 15.1 15.9 17.1 
			 Swindon 9.3 9.7 10.2 10.6 11.0 
			 Torbay 12.2 12.2 12.5 12.6 12.9 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 37.5 39.3 41.9 43.9 46.4 
			 Devon 56.2 58.7 61.0 63.6 65.9 
			 Dorset 35.1 36.4 37.6 39.2 40.7 
			 Gloucestershire 39.5 40.4 41.5 43.5 45.2 
			 Somerset 37.3 39.0 40.6 42.7 44.9 
			 Wiltshire 26.5 27.5 28.9 30.2 31.6 
			   
			 Wales GOR 196.7 203.7 212.2 221.0 229.9 
			 Blaenau Gwent 4.2 4.3 4.5 4.7 5.0 
			 Bridgend 8.4 9.0 9.3 9.6 9.9 
			 Caerphilly 9.2 9.7 10.2 10.8 11.3 
			 Cardiff 18.2 18.6 19.4 19.9 20.4 
			 Carmarthenshire 13.1 13.7 14.0 14.4 15.1 
			 Ceredigion 4.9 5.2 5.5 5.6 5.7 
			 Conwy 10.6 10.8 11.0 11.8 12.1 
			 Denbighshire 7.9 8.1 8.3 8.6 8.8 
			 Flintshire 9.5 9.8 10.3 10.9 11.5 
			 Anglesey 5.3 5.5 5.9 5.9 6.3 
			 Gwynedd 9.0 9.5 9.8 10.2 10.3 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 3.9 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.4 
			 Monmouthshire 5.6 5.9 6.4 6.8 7.1 
			 Neath Port Talbot 9.0 9.0 9.2 9.6 10.1 
			 Newport 8.3 8.8 9.4 9.6 10.0 
			 Pembrokeshire 7.7 8.1 8.3 8.6 9.1 
			 Powys 8.0 8.2 8.7 9.4 10.0 
			 Rhondda, Cynon, Taff 15.2 15.5 16.3 17.3 18.0 
			 Swansea 16.5 17.0 17.7 18.4 19.2 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan 8.1 8.2 8.4 8.7 8.9 
			 Torfaen 6.1 6.4 6.7 6.8 7.1 
			 Wrexham 8.1 8.3 8.8 9.1 9.5 
			   
			 Scotland GOR 378.4 390.0 399.7 412.1 426.6 
			 Aberdeen City 15.5 15.8 15.9 15.9 16.0 
			 Aberdeenshire 13.0 13.4 13.8 14.8 16.5 
			 Angus 8.6 8.8 8.8 9.1 9.5 
			 Argyll and Bute 7.6 7.7 8.0 8.5 9.1 
			 Clackmannanshire 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.6 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 12.1 12.7 13.2 13.9 14.9 
			 Dundee City 14.3 14.5 14.5 14.8 15.0 
			 East Ayrshire 9.0 9.5 9.8 9.9 10.5 
			 East Dunbartonshire 7.9 8.4 8.7 8.8 9.3 
			 East Lothian 6.5 6.6 6.7 7.0 7.3 
			 East Renfrewshire 6.5 6.9 7.1 7.6 7.9 
			 Edinburgh 29.7 30.1 30.6 31.0 31.9 
			 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.1 
			 Falkirk 10.2 10.6 10.9 11.5 11.9 
			 Fife 25.2 26.1 26.9 28.1 29.6 
			 Glasgow City 47.6 48.2 48.2 48.0 48.4 
			 Highland 15.6 16.3 16.8 17.6 18.4 
			 Inverclyde 7.9 8.2 8.2 8.5 8.6 
			 Midlothian 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 
			 Moray 5.5 6.0 6.1 6.4 6.9 
			 North Ayrshire 11.3 11.8 12.3 12.7 13.3 
			 North Lanarkshire 23.8 24.5 25.0 25.8 26.7 
			 Orkney Islands 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.4 
			 Perth and Kinross 10.8 11.2 11.7 12.4 12.5 
			 Renfrewshire 13.9 14.2 14.7 15.1 15.4 
			 Scottish Borders 8.8 9.1 9.2 9.4 9.6 
			 Shetland Islands 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6 
			 South Ayrshire 9.4 9.4 9.8 10.3 11.0 
			 South Lanarkshire 23.5 24.5 25.3 26.3 26.9 
			 Stirling 6.0 6.4 6.8 7.1 7.2 
			 West Dunbartonshire 7.8 7.8 8.1 8.2 8.3 
			 West Lothian 7.6 8.1 8.7 9.2 9.4 
			   
			 Great Britain 3,749.8 3,857.9 3,971.7 4,108.3 4,259.0 
		
	
	
		The number of women in Great Britain receiving a basic state pension based wholly or partly on their own national insurance contribution record -- Thousands
		
			  Total number of women in Great Britain receiving a basic state pension based on their own national insurance record Number of women in Great Britain receiving 50 per cent. or less of a basic state pension Number of women in Great Britain receiving 51 per cent. to 75 per cent. of a basic state pension Number of women receiving 76 per cent. or more of a basic state pension 
		
		
			 March 2000 3,749.8 286.9 336.2 3,126.7 
			 March 2001 3,857.9 277.7 363.9 3,216.3 
			 March 2002 3,971.7 270.1 391.4 3,310.2 
			 March 2003 4,108.3 267.1 427.2 3,414.0 
			 March 2004 4,259.0 263.3 465.1 3,530.6 
		
	
	1.Numbers are taken from a five per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	2.Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands.
	3.Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	4.Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	5.Numbers also refer to women who are receiving a basic state pension based on their own contribution record which is increased by using the contribution record of their husband or former husband. Numbers do not include women entitled to a basic state pension based on their own record which is then increased when they meet the conditions for a category D pension.
	6.Category A basic state pension rates:
	March 2000—£66.75;
	March 2001—£67.50;
	March 2002—72.50; March 2003—75.50; and
	March 2004—£77.45.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample as at 31 March for the years shown

PRIME MINISTER

Official Histories

Keith Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister how many Government-sponsored official histories are in preparation; when each was commissioned; who the authors are; what the estimated date of completion is in each case; and what the estimated cost in each caseis.

Tony Blair: The following official histories are currently in preparation:
	
		
			 Title Author Date commissioned Estimated publication date 
		
		
			 From Defence by Committee to Defence by Ministry Professor Donald Cameron Watt 1974 2006 
			 External Economic Policy since the War Volume 2 Professor Leslie Pressnell 1974 2006 
			 Special Operations Executive in Greece Professor Richard Clogg 1984 2006 
			 Special Operations Executive in Italy Christopher Woods 1989 2006 
			 Falklands Campaign Professor Lawrence Freedman 1997 2005 
			 UK Accession to the EEC Volume 2 Professor Alan Milward 1997 2006 
			 UK Accession to the EEC Volume 3 Professor Alan Milward 1997 2009 
			 The Development of North Sea Oil and Gas Professor Alexander Kemp 1999 2006 
			 Channel Tunnel Dr. Terence Gourvish 2001 2006 
			 The Civil Service since Fulton Professor Rodney Lowe 2002 2008 
			 The Official Biography of Desmond Morton Mrs. Gill Bennett 2002 2006 
			 D-Notice System Rear Admiral Nick Wilkinson 2004 2008 
			 Privatisation Professor David Parker 2004 2009 
		
	
	In the financial year 2003–04 the cost of running the official history programme was £190,000. This includes fees and expenses of historians and research assistants and costs associated with publication, but excludes staff costs of Cabinet Office administrative support and accommodation-related overheads. In the case of the SOE histories no fee is paid for the authors' work, instead they seek recompense through royalties from their publishers.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Prime Minister whether the statement made by the Attorney-General on 17 March 2003 setting out his views on the legality of the use of armed force against Iraq was a summary of the advice received by the Government.

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Prime Minister whether he had a role in the (a) framing, (b) drafting and (c) drawing up of the Answer given by the Attorney-General on 17 March 2003 on Iraq.

Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister whether the summary of the Attorney-General's advice on the legality of the war in Iraq published in the Official Report on 17 March 2003 was drafted by (a) Downing street and (b) Cabinet Office officials.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Members to the answer given by my right hon. noble Friend the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, today.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Prime Minister whether the complete text of the Attorney-General's opinion on the legality of the invasion of Iraq was seen by the full Cabinet.

Tony Blair: Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice and the proceedings of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Ministerial Travel

Annette Brooke: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many days he has spent overseas on official business in each year since 1997;
	(2) when he will reply to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole on 24 January, reference 211247.

Andrew Turner: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the overseas trips he has made on official business or using official transport, since 1997, broken down by date.

Tony Blair: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, and the Civil Service Management Code.
	Due to an administrative error the following was omitted from the list published in 1999: 2–26 August 1997—Italy and France.

Prime Minister's Questions

John Pugh: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the merits of altering the format of Prime Minister's questions.

Tony Blair: None.

Prime Minister's Questions

John Pugh: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has plans to bring forward proposals to alter the format of Prime Minister's questions.

Tony Blair: No.

Prime Minister's Questions

John Pugh: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has received representations from the public about the impression of the House given by the broadcasting of Prime Minister's question time.

Tony Blair: The information is not available in the format requested. Given the volume of correspondence I receive covering a broad spectrum of issues, my office records letters by subject rather than by the view expressed.

US Presidential Meeting

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what (a) matters he discussed and (b) decisions were reached at his breakfast meeting in Brussels with President Bush on 22 February.

Tony Blair: I discussed a wide range of issues with President Bush, including the Middle East Peace Process, the UK's G8 presidency and Iraq.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Apiculture

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultation process was undertaken with stakeholders prior to the announcement of changes to scientific resources available to support beekeeping.

Alun Michael: None. The proposed 20 per cent. reduction in expenditure with the National Bee Unit was determined following an internal review of resource allocation across the whole of Defra.
	The reduction will be concentrated on the field force of bee inspectors rather than the Unit's scientific services, which will be substantially maintained. The decision does not apply to the Department's spend on bee health research and development.

Apiculture

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reason was for the reduction in the funding allocation to the Bee Health Programme at the National Bee Unit.

Alun Michael: The budget for the Bee Health Programme in England was identified in Defra's Activity Baseline Review as an area where 20 per cent. savings (equivalent to £250,000 p.a.) could be realised from 2008. The review examined all of the Department's existing activities and the resources available to them.

Apiculture

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has commissioned on the effectiveness of shook swarming as a means of controlling foulbrood.

Alun Michael: National Bee Unit studies on the application of the 'shook swarm' technique with antibiotic for the control of European foul brood disease have already been subject to independent scientific peer review. It is our intention that the results from trials of the technique without the use of antibiotic should be independently assessed once enough data have been gathered and evaluated.

Apiculture

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what level of inspection of bee colonies she is proposing when European foulbrood is removed from statutory controls.

Alun Michael: Once a decision had been made to remove a statutory enforcement role for control of European foul brood in England, inspections would no longer be targeted on this disease. However, the National Bee Unit would continue to offer advice to beekeepers on managing the disease through its extension programme. Apiary inspections would thereafter concentrate on maximising control of American foul brood disease and surveillance for notifiable exotic bee pests, including the small hive beetle.
	Arrangements for bee health matters in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the respective devolved Administrations.

Earth Observation Summit

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the results of the Earth Observation Summit in Brussels on 16 February.

Elliot Morley: The Summit participants adopted a resolution on the future of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. The resolution included endorsement of a 10-year implementation plan. The plan details the work needed to assess the capacity of existing observation systems, identify gaps in the global observational network, and to work with others to address those gaps and develop more coordinated and comprehensive systems. A further result was the issue of a communique" that emphasised the high priority that should be given to tsunami and multi-hazard warning systems within the GEOSS.
	The UK endorsed the plan and the communique" along with the other 57 countries participating in GEO.

EU Subsidies

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the monetary value of direct EU export subsidies for agricultural goods exported by the EU to Africa in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: Total expenditure on EU export refunds (subsidies) is as follows.
	
		
			  Expenditure (£ million) 
		
		
			 1999 5,572.8 
			 2000 5,646.2 
			 2001 3,400.6 
			 2002 3,432.4 
			 2003(1) 3,703.0 
		
	
	(1)Data for 2003 refers to appropriations for commitments entered in the budget for 2003.
	Sources:
	Agriculture in the European Union" for 2000–03 and The Agricultural Situation in the European Union" for 1999.
	However, information on expenditure on export subsidies is not available by destination country and thus subsidised exports to Africa are not separately identifiable.

Horse Passports

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated revenue raised from (a) horse passports and (b) animal passports is.

Alun Michael: The Government do not collect any revenue from the issue of horse passports. Charges are made by individual Passport-Issuing Organisations and retained by those organisations. The Government do not charge pet passports since any charges are a matter for the vets who issue pet passports to pet owners. No charges are made for cattle passports.

Meat/Dairy Products

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the main export markets are for (a) beef, (b) lamb, (c) dairy products and (d) pork produced in England.

Alun Michael: The following table shows UK exports of beef, lamb/sheep, dairy products, pork/bacon and ham by main export market for the 12 months to November 2004. Exports from England are not separately identified.
	
		UK exports of specified commodities, December 2003-November2004
		
			 Commodity/country Total (t'000) 
		
		
			 Dairy produce  
			 Irish Republic 414.0 
			 Belgium 76.8 
			 Netherlands 55.7 
			 Germany 48.8 
			 France 44.5 
			 Others 193.9 
			 Dairy produce total 833.6 
			   
			 Pork  
			 Germany 29.2 
			 Irish Republic 21.9 
			 Belgium 9.9 
			 Hong Kong 8.7 
			 Netherlands 8.6 
			 Others 26.9 
			 Pork total 105.2 
			   
			 Bacon, ham etc.  
			 Irish Republic 11.2 
			 Spain 0.6 
			 Denmark 0.4 
			 France 0.4 
			 Portugal 0.2 
			 Others 0.6 
			 Bacon, ham etc. total 13.4 
			   
			 Beef  
			 Irish Republic 5.5 
			 Germany 1.2 
			 France 1.0 
			 Netherlands 0.9 
			 Belgium 0.6 
			 Others 1.3 
			 Beef total 10.5 
			   
			 Lamb  
			 France 49.0 
			 Belgium 8.7 
			 Germany 3.3 
			 Italy 2.0 
			 Irish Republic 1.2 
			 Others 2.0 
			 Lamb total 66.1 
			   
			 Sheep  
			 France 6.9 
			 Italy 1.1 
			 Irish Republic 1.0 
			 Germany 0.4 
			 Belgium 0.4 
			 Others 1.0 
			 Sheep total 10.7 
		
	
	Note:
	Data are subject to amendments until 30/06/2005
	Source:
	HM Customs and Excise
	Data prepared by Trade statistics, Food Chain Analysis 3, DEFRA

Meat/Dairy Products

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what quantity of (a) milk, (b) eggs, (c) beef and lamb, (d) chicken and (e) pork was imported to the UK from (i) the EU and (ii) outside the EU in the last period for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: The following table shows UK imports of milk, eggs, beef, lamb/sheep, chicken, pork/bacon and ham from EU and Non-EU countries over the 12 months to November 2004.
	
		UK imports of specified commodities, December 2003-November 2004 -- t'000
		
			 Commodity EU Non-EU Total imports 
		
		
			 Milk and cream (liquid) 93.2 0.0 93.2 
			 Birds' eggs (in shell) 41.2 0.2 41.4 
			 Beef 324.8 137.3 462.1 
			 Lamb 9.2 19.8 29.0 
			 Sheep 9.2 81.7 91.0 
			 Chicken 361.4 97.3 458.7 
			 Pork 470.5 5.1 475.6 
			 Bacon, ham etc. 301.4 0.0 301.4 
			 Commodity total 1,610.9 341.4 1,952.3 
		
	
	Note:
	Data are subject to amendments until 30 June 2005
	Source:
	HM Customs and Excise
	Data prepared by Trade statistics, Food Chain Analysis 3, DEFRA
	Further information on the production and supply of agricultural commodities can be found at: http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/auk/2004/excel. asp.

Single Farm Payments

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the timing of single farm payments to farmers entitled to receive them in 2005–06.

Alun Michael: The payment window for the Single Payment Scheme is 1 December 2005 to 30 June 2006. The objective is to make as many payments as possible as early as practicable, within that window.
	The Rural Payments Agency issued a News Release on 19 January confirming that the most probable date for payments to start is February 2006.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how waste from schools is defined with respect to the Environmental Protection Act 1990; and what duties are incumbent on (a) waste authorities and (b) schools for the collection and disposal of waste from schools.

Elliot Morley: Section 75(5)(d) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 defines waste from premises forming part of a university or school or other educational establishment as household waste. In addition, Schedule 2 to the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 classifies this waste as household waste for which a charge for collection may be made.
	Section 45(1) of the 1990 Act places a statutory duty on waste collection authorities to arrange for the collection of household waste. Section 48(1) of the 1990 Act requires waste collection authorities to deliver for disposal to the waste disposal authority all waste which has been collected under section 45.
	Section 51(1) of the 1990 Act requires waste disposal authorities to arrange for the disposal of the waste collected in its area by the waste collection authorities.
	Schools may arrange for the collection of their waste with either the waste collection authority or any other person who is an authorised person" for the purposes of section 34 of the 1990 Act (the duty of care).

Waste

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date Newcastle upon Tyne city council applied for a grant for a gas from waste burning plant; what (a) volume and (b) type of materials are proposed to be gasified and burnt; what sum of money has been requested; and if she will place the application in the Library.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 24 February 2005
	The Strategy Unit report Waste Not, Want Not" (published in November 2002) pointed out that new options for dealing with residual waste need to be developed and tested as landfill diminishes in importance. To address this issue, Defra's Waste Implementation Programme is currently delivering a programme of advice on and development of new technologies including pilots for more innovative waste management practices—providing detailed and impartial technical and operational data to inform future decision-making.
	Defra's latest call for industrial research proposals or projects aimed at developing pilot scale treatment equipment closed on 30 November 2004. Project proposals are now being evaluated by an expert advisory committee, including representatives from the public, private, community, NGO and financial sectors against a range of key criteria. Full details of the evaluation process are available on the Defra website.
	I can confirm that Newcastle city council has submitted a proposal for a pilot scale gasification and pyrolysis plant as part of the current bidding round on 29 November 2004. It would not be appropriate at this stage to release detailed information on any individual proposal as this would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of local authorities' industry partners. However, details of preferred bidders and information on their specific projects will be announced publicly in the spring.

TRANSPORT

Congestion (Birmingham)

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on congestion of the suspension of bus lanes on Tyburn Road in Birmingham.

Charlotte Atkins: This is a matter for Birmingham city council and the Department has made no formal assessment of the impacts. I understand the city council is monitoring the traffic flows and will make the information available in due course.

Disability Discrimination Act

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) applications for special authorisation orders were made and (b) special authorisation orders were granted under section 43 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Charlotte Atkins: The table details the number of applications for special authorisation and the number of special authorisations granted.
	
		
			  Applications received Special authorisations granted 
		
		
			 2001 116 111 
			 2002 70 70 
			 2003 79 79 
			 2004 269 189 
			 2005 13 13 
		
	
	These figures include applications and special authorisations that may have been granted, but have now expired. The total number of special authorisations currently in force is 208.
	The increase in numbers in 2004 is attributable to short-term special authorisations granted for a single vehicle type. We would not expect this to occur again.

Disability Discrimination Act

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation he undertakes before issuing special authorisation orders for public service vehicles under section 43 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; and if he will make a statement.

Charlotte Atkins: Section 43 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 does not require consultation before a Special Authorisation is issued.
	However, key stakeholders are often consulted during the process to ensure that all parties are fairly represented. These would include the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), the Department's statutory advisers on disability issues, groups representing disabled people, trade bodies representing vehicle manufacturers and operators.

Disability Discrimination Act

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many public service vehicles are subject to current special authorisation orders granted under section 43 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; what percentage of all regulated public service vehicles this represents; and if he will make a statement.

Charlotte Atkins: An annual survey of vehicle operators carried out by the Department for Transport indicates that there are 9,770 regulated full size buses. Although there is no similar data for coaches, these are likely to represent an almost insignificant proportion of the regulated Public Service Vehicle fleet.
	There are currently 208 buses and coaches operating under special authorisation representing approximately 2 per cent. of all regulated Public Service Vehicles.

Disability Discrimination Act

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the fines which have been issued under section (a) 40 and (b) 41 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; and what plans he has to alter the enforcement procedure for vehicles that contravene public service vehicle accessibility regulations.

Charlotte Atkins: The Vehicle Operator and Services Agency of the Department for Transport has made no prosecutions to date for contravention of the public service vehicles accessibility regulations. Instead it has been found that close liaison between operators, manufacturers and the Department has been effective in resolving the few cases of non-compliant vehicles found within the public service vehicle fleet.
	The current enforcement procedure generally requires a thorough inspection by a departmental certifying officer before each and every vehicle, falling within the scope of these regulations, is introduced into service. Subsequent in-service inspections can be carried out by VOSA as part of their ongoing targeted enforcement regime.
	The Department continuously monitors its enforcement programme and has no evidence to suggest that current provisions are ineffective, and therefore has no plans to modify the enforcement procedures.

Blue Badge Scheme

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish revised draft regulations for disabled parking permits.

Charlotte Atkins: We expect to consult on the draft amendment regulations this summer. These will make the following changes to the blue disabled persons parking badge scheme:
	extend the scheme to children under the age of two with specific medical conditions requiring the transport of bulky medical equipment;
	introduce temporary badges to those people with temporary mobility impairment which makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for them to walk and which is likely to last for a period of at least 12 months ;
	modify the wording for the upper limb criterion;
	change the wording on the badge to indicate the side to be displayed; and
	reintroduce a hologram onto the badge as an additional security measure.

Highway Maintenance

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the percentage of road length, broken down by highway category type, which should be considered for structural maintenance work in each local authority area in 2004.

Charlotte Atkins: Structural maintenance work on highways last year, as at any time, was a matter for the local authorities themselves to decide.
	The Department recommends that local authorities maintain their roads in accordance with the code of practice for maintenance management Delivering best value in highway maintenance" published in 2001. In deciding on structural maintenance work authorities should pay regard, amongst other things, to the surface condition surveys of carriageways they are required to carry out annually. These produce the best value performance indicators 96, 97a and 97b (for principal, non-principal classified and unclassified roads respectively) that indicate the proportion of the network that should be considered for structural maintenance. ODPM will publish the 2004–05 results of these surveys for each English local authority later this year.

Parking

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much (a) income was derived from and (b) expenditure has been incurred by each local authority on parking, broken down by (i) charges and (ii) penalties where available, in financial year 2003–04.

Charlotte Atkins: Information on local authority parking income and expenditure for the financial year 2003–04 is not available. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intend to publish the information by the end of April.

Public Service Vehicles

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of public service vehicles are required to comply with public service vehicle accessibility regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Charlotte Atkins: An annual survey of vehicle operators carried out by the Department for Transport indicates that there are almost 80,000 public service vehicles operating in Great Britain. These comprise a range of vehicles, including minibuses, full size buses and coaches. Vehicle size, age, carrying capacity and type of operation will dictate which of these must meet the requirements of the public service vehicle accessibility regulations. This makes it impossible accurately to determine what percentage of public service vehicles are currently required to comply with the regulations.
	Nevertheless, the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) carried out prior to the introduction of the PSV accessibility regulations predicted future changes in bus fleet composition, including reduced numbers of double deck buses and increased numbers of minibuses. It was estimated that by the time of full compliance, i.e. 2017 for buses and 2020 for coaches, almost 53,000 buses will fall within the scope of regulations, representing towards 95 per cent. of the bus fleet capacity at that time. Numbers of coaches were more difficult to predict but the RIA estimated that 1,250 vehicles would fall within the scope of regulations. This is likely to represent 5 per cent. of the total coach fleet in 2020.
	However, the Department is currently discussing with industry whether it might be possible to extend the scope of regulations to include coaches used on tour services. If vehicles operated in this way were brought within scope of the regulations, this would result in a far greater proportion of accessible coaches in the fleet.

Railway Property (Crime)

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many persons were prosecuted for criminal acts committed on or against railway property in the last year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The British Transport Police (BTP) have informed me that in the year April 2003–March 2004 a total of 12,189 people were prosecuted by the BTP in England and Wales. This figure represents all offences excluding revenue offences.

St. Pancras Station

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will set a completion date for the fitting-out of the Thameslink Box at St. Pancras station;
	(2)  when the Department expects to complete the fitting-out of the Thameslink Box at St. Pancras station.

Alistair Darling: The Department is committed to delivering the station fit-out, but needs to look further at the options for completing the work, including timing, before we can give the go-ahead. Consequently the Department has not set any dates for the start and completion of the work.

St. Pancras Station

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the fitting-out of the Thameslink Box at St.Pancras station will cost.

Alistair Darling: The most recent projected cost of the fitting-out of the St. Pancras Midland Road station is approximately £60 million (at 2003–04 prices) which includes the fitting out, rail systems alterations and client costs required to make the station operational. This figure may change depending, for example, on future decisions on the scope and programme for the works.

Trust Ports

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason trust ports which are classified as public corporations have not produced resource accounts for 2003–04; and whether they will be required to do so for 2004–05.

David Jamieson: Trust Ports are not required to produce resource accounts. This is a requirement of Government departments and Trading Funds only.

Working Time Directive

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the final details of the Working Time Directive regulations applicable to road haulage operators.

Alistair Darling: I expect to be able to publish our formal guidance and table the implementing regulations before Parliament very shortly.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Academy Teachers

Kerry Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what professional regulation applies to academy teachers.

Stephen Twigg: Academies are registered independent schools. Like all independent schools, they are not bound by the legislation which requires teachers in maintained schools to register with the General Teaching Council for England (GTC), which is the professional regulating body for teachers in the maintained sector. However, as the vast majority of teachers within academies will have moved across from the maintained sector, most will already be registered with the council and are likely to remain so. We will be writing shortly to academies to clarify this issue and will certainly encourage them to continue to register existing staff with the council. Ultimately, however, this is a matter for individual teachers to decide.

Faith Schools (West Midlands)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many private faith schools there are in the West Midlands region, broken down by constituency.

Stephen Twigg: The figures provided by independent schools at the last annual schools census for which figures are available, January 2004, are shown in the following table.
	
		Independent schools: number of schools by faith -- January 2004
		
			 By parliamentary constituency in the West Midlands Government office region No religious character Church of England Roman Catholic Muslim Other Christian faith(2) Other 
		
		
			 Aldridge-Brownhills 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Birmingham, Edgbaston 5 3 1 0 2 0 
			 Birmingham, Erdington 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Hall Green 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Hodge Hill 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Ladywood 4 0 0 3 1 0 
			 Birmingham, Northfield 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Perry Barr 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Selly Oak 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath 3 0 0 5 0 1 
			 Birmingham, Yardley 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bromsgrove 3 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Burton 2 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Cannock Chase 0 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Coventry North East 1 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Coventry North West 1 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Coventry South 4 1 0 0 1 1 
			 Dudley North 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dudley South 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Halesowen and Rowley Regis 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hereford 1 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Leominster 6 1 1 0 1 0 
			 Lichfield 5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Ludlow 5 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Meriden 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Mid Worcestershire 4 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 3 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Shropshire 5 2 0 0 0 0 
			 North Warwickshire 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nuneaton 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Redditch 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rugby and Kenilworth 1 2 2 0 1 0 
			 Shrewsbury and Atcham 6 2 1 0 1 0 
			 Solihull 4 0 0 0 1 0 
			 South Staffordshire 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Stafford 4 1 0 0 1 0 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent Central 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent North 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent South 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Stone 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Stourbridge 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stratford-on-Avon 4 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Sutton Coldfield 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Tamworth 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Telford 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 The Wrekin 2 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Walsall North 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Walsall South 1 0 0 2 2 0 
			 Warley 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warwick and Leamington 3 1 0 0 4 0 
			 West Bromwich East 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Bromwich West 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Worcestershire 3 3 0 0 1 0 
			 Wolverhampton North East 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton South East 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton South West 3 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Worcester 3 2 1 0 1 0 
			 Wyre Forest 4 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Total 108 26 9 13 30 2 
		
	
	(2)Includes schools of mixed denomination or other Christian beliefs.

Grammar School Ballots

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list each request for an electoral roll in connection with a grammar school ballot made in the last 12 months; and what the (a) name of the education authority area, (b) date of the request and (c) name of the person or persons making the request were in each case.

Stephen Twigg: In the last 12 months there has been only one request for petition thresholds to be set, which is the first step in the petition process. The request, made on 22 December 2004, asked that thresholds be set for all local education authority areas that have grammar schools. No threshold will be set for Ripon in Yorkshire, as there was an unsuccessful ballot in March 2000 and the five year moratorium on further ballots is still in effect.
	I cannot name those who requested the petition, as to do so would not comply with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Higher Education

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of university students who would have been entitled to receive the higher education grant in the current academic year; and what estimate she has made of the number who will apply for it in the academic year beginning in 2006.

Kim Howells: Preliminary data from the Student Loans Company show that just over 100,000 students are entitled to either a full or a partial grant for academic year 2004/05. We expect to have firmer figures of the number of applications made in 2004/05 by April 2005 and will then be better placed to estimate the number of students applying for the grant in academic year 2006/07.

Higher Education

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions she has had with the higher education sector concerning the future take-up of courses in (a) mathematics and (b) scientific disciplines; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: As Minister for Higher Education I regularly meet representatives of the sector to discuss this issue.
	The Government are committed to increasing the number of students taking up higher education courses in mathematics and scientific disciplines. The 10-year science and innovation investment framework, published jointly by Treasury, the Department for Trade and Industry and the Department for Education and Skills last July, sets out a range of new measures to address the problem. These cover all phases of education from schools through to higher education. In addition, the then Secretary of State for Education and Skills wrote to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) at the beginning of December asking their advice on what types of action should be considered to strengthen and secure subjects of strategic national importance, including mathematics and science.

Looked-after Children

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many looked-after children have not had a school place in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) accommodation and (b) age.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not collected centrally.

Looked-after Children

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate the Government have made of the number of looked-after children that receive lay visitors; and what measures the Government have taken to increase this number.

Margaret Hodge: The DfES does not collect statistics on the number of looked-after children for whom an independent visitor has been appointed. The Government currently have no plans to collect this information.

Official Residences

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the official residences for which her Department is responsible; who occupies each one; what the annual cost is of running each property; what contribution the occupants of each make towards running costs; what the total capital and refurbishment expenditure has been on those properties in each of the past five years; how much money was spent in each property on (a) flowers and plants, (b) wine and entertaining, (c) food, (d) telephone bills and (e) electricity and gas in 2003–04; how many (i)domestic and (ii) maintenance staff are employed at each property, broken down by post; and what the total cost of staff employment was in 2003–04.

Stephen Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills is not responsible for any official residences.

Primary Teachers

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what financial support is available to students undertaking qualifications to enter teaching at primary education level;
	(2)  whether tuition fees support available to students undertaking the Postgraduate Certificate in Education qualification is available to students undertaking work-based primary education degrees; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: Students on undergraduate courses of initial teacher training are eligible for the same package of financial support as other undergraduates. Students taking Postgraduate Certificate in Education courses currently receive full tuition fee remission and a £6,000 training bursary.
	My right hon. Friend has no present plans to extend these incentives to undergraduates.

Departmental Policies

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will set out statistical information relating as closely as possible to the Rochdale constituency, with effects of her Department's actions and policies on Rochdale since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: The Rochdale constituency lies within Rochdale local education authority. The most recent Key Stage 2 and GCSE and equivalents Achievement for pupils attending schools in Rochdale are given in the following tables.
	
		Key Stage 2 Achievements of 11-year-old pupils attending schools in the Rochdale constituency
		
			  Percentage of pupils gaining level 4 and above 
			  1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997–2004 
		
		
			 Rochdale—English(3) 54 67 13 
			 Rochdale—Maths(3) 56 65 9 
			 National Average—English(4) 63 78 15 
			 National Average—Maths(4) 61 74 13 
		
	
	(3)Pupils attending schools in Rochdale constituency.
	(4)The average for all schools in England (including independent schools)
	
		GCSE and equivalents(5) Achievement of 15-year-old pupils(6) attending schools in the Rochdale constituency
		
			 Percentage of 15-year-olds gaining 1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997–2004 
		
		
			 Rochdale—5+A*–C 37.1 41.7 4.6 
			 Rochdale—5+A*–G 81.1 86.2 5.1 
			 National Average—5+A*–C 45.1 53.7 8.6 
			 National Average—5+A*–G 87.0 88.8 1.8 
		
	
	(5)For 2004 only results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a wide range of other qualifications approved pre-16. Prior to 2004 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only.
	(6)As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year
	At national level, standards have improved across all key stages. The Primary and Key Stage 3 National Strategies, together with the measures we have taken to help schools in the toughest areas are continuing to deliver better results.
	Further information by constituency, is provided within the Department's 'In Your Area' website available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea. Where information is not available at the constituency level it has been provided at local education authority level.
	This website allows users to access key facts and local information about education and skills based on postcodes. The data available within the site offer comparisons between 1997 and the latest available year and cover five geographies. These are parliamentary constituency, ward, local authority district, local education authority, Government office region. England figures are also provided.
	The information available within the website is grouped in a number of broad categories including Literacy and Numeracy at age 11, Literacy and Numeracy at age 14, GCSE/GNVQ results, Pupils with Special Educational Needs, School Initiatives, School Workforce, School Funding and Resources, Children's Social Services, Early Years, Class Sizes, Post 16, Higher Education and Adult Education
	Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, my Department is investigating ways in which we can disseminate more information about the effects of our policies at a local level. The In Your Area website will be further developed over the coming months to include additional information about Adult Education, School Funding, School Initiatives, School Performance, School Workforce and Post 16.

Schools

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been made available for computers for schools in Coventry since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The Department does not hold information on funding for ICT at constituency level. However, Coventry South is in Coventry LEA and allocations for this authority, since 1998, are detailed in 'Funding for ICT in Schools in England' which is available in the House Library.

Schools

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many competitions have been held by local education authorities for the provision of a new school since the powers were introduced.

Derek Twigg: There have been no competitions for new secondary schools since the requirement for a competition for additional secondary schools was introduced in June 2003. The Education Bill currently before Parliament will extend the requirement for a competition to all new secondary schools, including schools replacing existing schools as a result of reorganisation, unless the Secretary of State agrees that in a particular case the objectives of increasing the quality and diversity of provision could be met by other proposals commanding support in the area.

Schools

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the ratio is of students to teachers in the town of Romford.

Stephen Twigg: The following table provides pupil and staff information for maintained primary and secondary schools in Romford constituency in January 2004, the latest information available.
	
		
			  Pupil:Teacher ratio(8) Pupil:Adult ratio(9) 
		
		
			 Maintained primary schools(7) 24.0 14.7 
			 Maintained secondary schools(7) 17.5 12.2 
		
	
	(7)Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(8)Based on the full-time equivalent of qualified teachers.
	(9)Based on the full-time equivalent of all teaching and support staff (excluding admin and clerical staff).
	Source:
	Annual School Census.

Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Huddersfield constituency, on the effects on Huddersfield of the Government's programme for capital investment in schools since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: The following table sets out the capital allocation to Kirklees metropolitan council and its schools for the years since 1997 to 1998. Information is not held centrally on allocations at constituency level.
	
		Kirklees
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 1997–98 3,573 
			 1998–99 4,899 
			 1999–2000 6,808 
			 2000–01 74,020 
			 2001–02 12,187 
			 2002–03 44,421 
			 2003–04 17,253 
			 2004–05 19,324

Schools

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many primary schools in the Greater London area she estimates will need to be replaced within the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: My Department does not hold information that would be needed to estimate how many primary schools in the Greater London area will need to be replaced within the next five years.
	The bulk of schools capital is now allocated by formula to authorities and schools, so that they can address their local priorities. Prioritisation of need should be through an open, rigorous and consultative asset management planning process, based on assessments of the needs of all schools. Where work is needed, there should be consideration of whether repair, remodelling, or replacement is appropriate.
	Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996–97 to £4.9 billion this year and will rise further to £6.3 billion by 2007–08. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock.

Schools

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in the Greater London area have only outside toilet facilities on their premises; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: My Department does not hold this information.
	In March 1998 the then Secretary of State announced that £35 million had been allocated to address the issue of school toilets which could only be accessed from outside and certain energy management improvements. At that time around 450 projects were supported by the Department, with most local education authorities submitting proposals and over the two years 1998–1999 and 1999–2000 a large proportion of outside toilets (and inefficient boilers) were replaced at a cost of about £70 million. It was, and still is, the responsibility of LEAs to identify needs and to seek funding.

Schools

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools in Greater London, broken down by London borough, ran a budget deficit in the year ended 31 March 2003; and how much this deficit was for each school.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Teacher Recruitment

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the cost of the fast track teacher recruiting programme in each year from 2001–02 to 2009–10; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: The Fast Track teaching programme invests in developing effective leadership in schools; it is not primarily a recruitment programme.
	The cost of Fast Track for the years 2001–04 and estimated costs for 2004–06 are shown as follows. We are reviewing the cost of the programme for future years.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2001–02 8.27 
			 2002–03 8.07 
			 2003–04 12.9 
			 2004–05 (10)18.4 
			 2005–06 (11)23.0 
		
	
	(10)estimated end of year forecast
	(11)estimate

Teacher Training Agency

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the administration budget of the Teacher Training Agency was in the last financial year for which figures are available; and what allocations have been made for each year to 2009–10.

Stephen Twigg: The Teacher Training Agency's grant letter for 2005–06 says the following about the TTA's administrative costs taking into account efficiency savings levels measured against the 2004–05 baseline.
	We have agreed the following:
	an administrative costs baseline of £23.8 million for 2004–05
	£22.5 million for 2005–06
	£21.2 million for 2006–07
	£19.9 million for 2007–08
	Administrative costs here mean all costs involved in running the TTA's business as distinct from delivering front-line services."
	Figures for 2008–09 and 2009–10 are not available.

TREASURY

Alcohol/Tobacco Smuggling

Annette Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action his Department is taking to clarify the rules on the importation of cigarettes and alcohol for personal use only following visits to Europe; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Information for travellers is available from the National Advice Service, the Customs website (www.hmce.gov.uk) and in posters and public notices available at major ports and airports within the UK and some European airports.

Alcohol/Tobacco Smuggling

Annette Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals have been prosecuted for bringing (a) too many cigarettes and (b) too much alcohol into the UK from Europe in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information is not readily available in the format requested. HM Customs and Excise central records collate the number of prosecutions but do not distinguish the specifics of smuggling within and from outside Europe.
	For details of the number of prosecutions since 2001, I refer the hon. Member to the Customs and Excise annual report 2003–04, which is available in the House of Commons Library.

Alcohol/Tobacco Smuggling

Annette Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many privately owned vehicles have been destroyed following seizure at UK ports by HM Customs and Excise due to suspicion of smuggling cigarettes and alcohol purchased in Europe; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many privately owned vehicles have been seized and subsequently returned to the owner by HM Customs and Excise at UK ports on suspicion of smuggling cigarettes and alcohol from Europe in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many privately owned vehicles have been seized by HM Customs and Excise at UK ports due to suspicion of smuggling cigarettes and alcohol from Europe in each year since 2001.

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise records on seized vehicles do not distinguish between privately owned vehicles and those owned by commercial entities.

Alcohol/Tobacco Smuggling

Annette Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) annual and (b) monthly cost of using private security firms to secure and patrol the vehicles seized by HM Customs and Excise at UK ports has been in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise have a single contract for the storage of all goods, including all vehicles, which are seized throughout the UK, not just UK ports.
	Costs for private security to secure and patrol the vehicles seized by HM Customs and Excise at UK ports are included in the overall costs of this contract and are not available individually.

Correspondence

Anthony Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ask the Director of Child Benefit and Tax Credit Operations to reply to a letter from the hon. Member for Totnes dated 4 February about Mr. and Mrs. R. Bridle of Brixham, regarding alleged overpayment of tax credits; and for what reason Mr. Bridle was advised that this matter would be dealt with in six to eight weeks.

Dawn Primarolo: The Tax Credit Office (TCO) aims to deal with 80 per cent. of letters from customers within 15 days and 95 per cent. within 40 days. Where it looks as if they will be unable to reply quickly, TCO aims to acknowledge receipt of the customer's letter and say when they expect to be able to reply. TCO will reply to the hon. Member and his constituent shortly.

Departmental Policies

Martyn Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Clwyd, South constituency, the effect on the constituency of policies pursued by his Department at the Council of Ministers since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Chancellor of the Exchequer attends the ECOFIN formation of the Council of Ministers. One policy that benefits the Clwyd, South constituency is Structural Funds and Cohesion Policy, agreed as part of the EU budget. At ECOFIN, the UK has consistently argued both that the overall EU budget should be constrained, and focused on value for money, and also that spending should provide a good budgetary deal for the UK. In the current Financial Perspective, part of my hon. Friend's constituency is included in the west Wales and the valleys area, for which the Government secured objective 1 status at the Berlin European Council in 1999. The outcome also included funding through objective 3, which applies in the parts of Clwyd, South not covered by objective 1, and objective 2 which also applies in some parts of Clwyd, South. Based on this, in subsequent spending reviews, the Treasury has made available extra allocations, outside the Barnett formula, for the Welsh Objective 1 programmes, including in the 2004 Spending Review £106 million for 2005–06, £128 million for 2006–07 and £147 million for 2007–08.
	This has allowed the Objective 1 programme so far, for example, to commit £1 billion to 1,300 projects reporting the creation and safeguarding of some 84,000gross jobs. This funding, together with other Government policies, has helped to support the Clwyd, South economy, to reduce unemployment from 1,422 in 1997 to 1,058 in 2000 and to 752 now—overall, since May 1997, claimant unemployment has fallen by 48 per cent., while long-term unemployment and long-term youth unemployment have fallen by 88 and 81 per cent. respectively.

Energy Products Directive

Simon Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the amount of revenue forgone in respect of rebated diesel for private leisure craft in each year since the Energy Products Directive came into force;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of private leisure craft which have used rebated red diesel in each year since the Energy Products Directive came into force.

John Healey: No robust estimate of the revenue forgone has been possible due to a lack of data.The Government do not hold any figures for numbers of private pleasure craft. The British Marine Federation has estimated that there are approximately 451,000 private pleasure boats in the UK, although this figure includes all types of boats, not just those using red diesel.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee on Excise Duties met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Committee on Excise Duties meets in Brussels approximately twice a year as determined by the European Commission.
	The Committee met once during the Italian Presidency, on 12–14 December 2003, once during the Irish Presidency, on 1–2 April 2004 and once during theDutch Presidency, on 1–2 July 2004.
	Officials from HM Customs and Excise represented the UK.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Economic Policy Committee: Working Party and Reduced Compositions met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Economic Policy Committee (EPC) met formally 16 times during the Italian, Irish and Dutch Presidencies of the EU. All meetings were held in Brussels, with the exception of one Informal meeting held in London in June 2004. The various working groups and reduced compositions of the EPC met on 30 occasions in Brussels during these three Presidencies. The UK Government was represented on each occasion by Treasury officials.

Inspection and Enforcement Activities

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of inspection and enforcement activities carried out by (a) his Department and (b) regulatory bodies and agencies sponsored by his Department was in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) 2003–04.

Dawn Primarolo: The Chancellor's Departments which carry out inspection or enforcement type activities are the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise. In the course of achieving their objectives, however, neither Department separately identifies inspection or enforcement activity, with the exception of the law enforcement work of HM Customs and Excise. This focuses on the management of risks to society that arise from the illegal importation of prohibited or restricted goods such as class A drugs, firearms or paedophile material. It is not therefore possible to provide the information requested on costs of inspection and enforcement activities for 1996–97 and 2003–04, although more information on the activities of HM Customs and Excise and of the Inland Revenue and the administrative costs of running the Departments, including the costs to HM Customs and Excise of working to reduce crime and drug dependency and on investment in compliance activity in the Inland Revenue, can be found in their annual reports and accounts.

Mobile Phones

Howard Stoate: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax and national insurance benefits will be available from April to employers who supply mobile phone and associated contracts to employees and their families.

Dawn Primarolo: The provision of a mobile phone by an employer to a director or employee or any member of their family or household has been exempt from tax and national insurance contributions since April 1999.

Pensioners (Employment)

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of (a) men aged 65 years or over and (b) women aged 60 years or over are in (i) full-time and (ii) part-time employment; and if he will provide corresponding estimates at three-yearly intervals since 1975.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 28 February 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about employment. I am replying in his absence. (217997)
	The attached table gives estimates, based on the Labour Force Survey, of the proportion of men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over who were in full and part-time employment for the three month periods ending May every three years from 1986 to 2004. Data for earlier periods are not available on a consistent basis.
	As with any statistical sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey are subject to sampling variability.
	
		People over retirement age(12) working full or part-time as a percentage(13) of population over retirement age -- Percentage (not seasonally adjusted)
		
			 Three month period Full-time Part-time 
			 ending May All Men Women All Men Women 
		
		
			 1986 1.9 2.4 1.6 4.8 4.8 4.8 
			 1989 2.2 2.7 1.9 5.7 5.7 5.6 
			 1992 2.5 3.1 2.2 5.6 5.4 5.7 
			 1995 2.2 2.7 1.9 5.7 5.3 5.9 
			 1998 2.1 2.5 1.8 5.5 4.9 5.9 
			 2001 2.2 2.4 2.0 5.7 4.6 6.3 
			 2004 2.6 2.8 2.4 6.7 5.7 7.4 
		
	
	(12)Defined as men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over.
	(13)Percentages are based on people working full or part-time as a percentage of all those in the relevant age groups.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  in how many cases where the Inland Revenue has contacted child care providers whose details have been provided by claimants of the child care element of child tax credit the child had been removed from the child care provider;
	(2)  how many times the Inland Revenue contacted child care providers whose details have been provided by claimants of the child care element of child tax credit in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 25 February 2005
	Where a 2003–04 or 2004–05 tax credit award includes an element of help towards the cost of child care, the Inland Revenue has contacted child care providers to verify the details that have been provided by the claimant.
	In 2003–04, the Department contacted around 215,000 child care providers to check information and so far in 2004–05 they have contacted around 251,000 providers. Wherever possible, the Department sends a single, composite inquiry covering all the claims in which the child care provider features.
	Unlike the previous tax credits, the amount of help towards child care is not fixed for the duration of the award. The new tax credit system is designed to respond to changes in circumstances and where people alter their child care arrangements the amount of tax credits they receive may be adjusted to ensure they continue to receive the right amount of money. Claimants are required to tell the Inland Revenue within three months where the amount they pay for child care falls by £10 per week or more. Other changes can be reported when finalising the claim after the end of the tax year, although the Inland Revenue encourages claimants to report changes as and when they happen to avoid over and under payments.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards (Inquiry Costs)

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Leader of the House if he will bring forward proposals to enable the recovery of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards' inquiry costs from the hon. Member concerned where a complaint is upheld; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: I have no plans to do so.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department is taking to limit the number of deaths and injuries in Afghanistan resulting from unexploded ammunition; and what proportion of such deaths and injuries has been of children.

Hilary Benn: DFID is supporting mine and undeveloped ordnance clearance in Afghanistan. In the period 2002–04 we provided £3.8 million to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) for its clearance work in Afghanistan.
	DFID is also supporting the Halo Trust's Weapons and Ammunition Disposal Programme through its contribution to the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). In 2004–05, the GCPP has provided £430,000 to this programme, which is focused on destroying excess ammunition and small arms, much of which is unserviceable and unsafe.
	It is difficult to obtain precise information casualties from landmine and unexploded ammunition in Afghanistan. However, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, in 2003 (the latest year for which there are figures) there were 846 new casualties, of which 184 resulted in death. Of the 846 casualties, 384 casualties were children under the age of 18 years. The information available does not provide a breakdown by age of the casualties resulting in death.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the principal lessons learned by his Department on reconstruction and development during the reconstruction period in Bosnia-Herzegovina were.

Hilary Benn: DFID, MOD, the FCO and the Cabinet Office are setting up the 'Post Conflict Reconstruction Unit' to do more to improve the United Kingdom's capacity to deal with post conflict stabilisation. The experience of reconstruction and development in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the reconstruction phase, while not recorded formally, did highlight a number of lessons that the new unit will consider as well as lessons identified from other post conflict stabilisation and reconstruction scenarios where HMG has been involved. It is hoped to link this process to the US Office of the Co-ordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilisation and draw from the UN Lessons Learned Unit.

Emergency Aid

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much in the aid budget for 2004–05 is set aside for dealing with emergency situations; where the money has been pledged; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: DFID sets aside a sum of money each year to a central Contingency Reserve to enable the UK to respond to both humanitarian emergencies and reconstruction needs. In 2004–05 this amounted to £30 million. DFID also had a humanitarian assistance contingency budget of £49 million in 2004–05, of which about £12 million was allocated to provide emergency relief.
	The Government's immediate humanitarian response to the Asia tsunami relief effort included committing the full Contingency Reserve of £30 million as well as £20 million from the humanitarian response budget.
	The UK has provided over £6 million in non-tsunami emergency funding in 2004–05. A breakdown of the recipients is as follows:
	
		
			  Country  Emergency situation Total committed (£) 
		
		
			 Madagascar Cyclone 255,000 
			 Morocco Earthquake 155,000 
			 Haiti Complex emergency 1,891,000 
			 Dominican Republic Floods 57,168 
			 Haiti Floods 418,400 
			 Tajikistan Floods 25,000 
			 Nepal Floods 100,000 
			 Paraguay Fire 10,000 
			 Caribbean Hurricane Ivan 1,829,527 
			 Haiti Tropical Storm Jeanne 884,976 
			 Indonesia Earthquake 30,000 
			 Philippines Storms and typhoons 300,000 
			 Colombia Floods 82,500 
		
	
	In addition, humanitarian assistance is provided through a number of our country programmes. The bulk of this is within Africa; and in 2004–05 this provision amounted to an earmarking within country budgets of approximately £110 million. An Africa regional humanitarian budget of £37 million was used to meet unexpected humanitarian needs. The country budgets allocations have also been varied within year depending on circumstances. The following table sets out the initial humanitarian allocations, by country, for 2004–05:
	
		
			 Country Humanitarian assistance (£) 
		
		
			 Angola 2,980,000 
			 Burundi 1,680,000 
			 Eritrea 1,050,000 
			 Somalia 1,880,000 
			 Congo 15,640,000 
			 Ethiopia 10,000,000 
			 Sudan 30,530,000 
			 Kenya 8,740,000 
			 Tanzania 9,920,000 
			 Uganda 7,080,000 
			 Malawi 2,000,000 
			 Zimbabwe 13,800,000 
			 Sierra Leone 2,000,000 
			 Liberia 3,000,000 
			 Guinea Conakry 1,000,000 
			 RCI 1,000,000 
		
	
	In other regions, we did not set aside separate budgets for emergency and humanitarian work. However assistance has been provided in, for example, Iraq and Afghanistan.

HIV/AIDS

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance his Department has provided in each of the past five years to voluntary organisations working to prevent HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 25 February 2005
	This information is not available from our statistics. DFID tends to support integrated HIV/AIDS programmes and it is therefore difficult to break down support for HIV/AIDS prevention as distinct from treatment and care activities. Also, our support to voluntary organisations takes three forms (direct support to UK-based organisations through our Civil Society Challenge Fund, direct support to local organisations through our country programmes and Partnership Programme Agreements) only the first of which can be readily disaggregated in the way requested.
	We support 18 major UK voluntary organisations through Partnership Programme Agreements. These are strategic level agreements based on shared aims and specific outcomes rather than individual project activities. It is therefore not possible for us to apportion support to HIV/AIDS activities. However the majority of these organisations do have an agreed outcome specifically targeted at HIV/AIDS. The level of our support for Partnership Programme Agreements has increased from £47 million to £62.5 million over the past five years.

HIV/AIDS

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  whether the Department's field offices will be producing detailed action plans in addition to the revised country assistance plans in those countries with large numbers of orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS;
	(2)  what steps the UK Government are taking to ensure that the Department's field offices help to increase the capacity of ministries in developing countries responsible for protecting the rights and meeting the needs of orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: I refer the hon. Member to the responses I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North, (Ms Keeble) on 10 February 2005, Official Report, columns 1638W and 1394W respectively (UIN 215342 and UIN 215343).

HIV/AIDS

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government are taking to ensure that the issue of orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS is made a priority during the review of the European Union's Programme for Action on Poverty Diseases in 2005.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: I refer the Member to the response I gave to the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, (Mrs. Brook), on 1 February 2005, Official Report, column 794W. (UIN 211156),

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what investigations the Government has undertaken on the possible involvement of UK (a) individuals and (b) companies in the mismanagement of Iraq reconstruction funds.

Hilary Benn: No investigations have been carried out by the Government on the possible involvement of UK individuals or companies in the mismanagement of Iraqi reconstruction funds.
	The UK supported the establishment of the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) —mandated by United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1483 of 22 May 2003—as an independent, objective body to oversee coalition management of Iraqi oil revenues and reconstruction spending.
	The IAMB'S report on the two independent audits of coalition use of Iraqi funds in the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) states that
	all known oil proceeds ... have been properly and transparently accounted for in the DFI".
	IAMB audit reports are available on the IAMB website at www.iamb.info.

Landmines

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government is taking to eliminate the problem of landmines; and what funding was made available to countries affected by landmines in the last year for which figures are available.

Hilary Benn: The following table lists DFID's contributions to global mine action in financial year 2003–04.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)—Core Support 650,000 
			 United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)—Core Support 2,000,000 
			 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)—Core Support 600,000 
			 Research and Knowledge 1,766,720 
			 Ottawa Sponsorship Programme (support to poor countries to enable attendance at international mine action meetings). 16,660 
			 Angola—HALO Trust demining (Road Verification) 117,650 
			 Angola—Mines Advisory Group (MAG) demining via UN office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 100,000 
			 Angola—UNDP Capacity Building 300,000 
			 Afghanistan—UNMAS Demining 2,000,000 
			 Cambodia (MAG) 271,250 
			 Iraq—(MAG) demining S Iraq 781,639 
			 Iraq—UNMAS Demining 4,357,378 
			 Iraq MAG Preparedness 80,883 
			 N Caucasus—UNICEF Mine Risk Education, Victim Support 60,000 
			 Sudan UNMAS 1,000,000 
			 HALO Other 32,402 
			 Total 14,134,582 
		
	
	In addition the UK share of European Community global mine action for the calendar year 2003 (the latest year for which we have figures), was £2.9 Million.

Malawi

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the extra funds from the new six-year programme of support to the Malawi health service will be released.

Hilary Benn: DFID financing will begin in April 2005. By that time, we expect the Government of Malawi to have implemented the conditions for the release of our aid for the grant. These are to present a plan to reform the Central Medical Stores and to increase the Government health budget by the amount of additional funding to be provided through its budget by DFID, Norway and the World Bank.

Uganda

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what development assistance has been provided by the UK Government to Uganda in each year since 1997; and what it has been spent on.

Hilary Benn: The development assistance provided by the UK Government as bilateral aid to Uganda in each year since 1997–98 is shown in the following table. This is mainly in the form of Poverty Reduction Budget Support, project or sector aid in health and education, technical co-operation and grants to Civil Society Organisations. Further details are available in Table 7.1 of our annual publication Statistics on International Development", copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
	
		Bilateral aid to Uganda -- £ thousand
		
			 Fiscal year Total UK Government expenditure 
		
		
			 1997–98 59,325 
			 1998–99 64,261 
			 1999–2000 90,286 
			 2000–01 97,572 
			 2001–02 68,724 
			 2002–03 54,868 
			 2003–04 59,614 
		
	
	Source:
	Statistics on International Development
	In addition the UK supports Uganda through its multilateral contributions.
	Figures are given as follows for the imputed UK share of EC aid for calendar years over the same period.
	
		UK share of EC aid (imputed)
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997 4.7 
			 1998 5.0 
			 1999 4.9 
			 2000 5.4 
			 2001 7.5 
			 2002(14) 2.7 
		
	
	(14)Most recent year available.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Electricity Payments

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to reduce the differentials between pre-payment meters for electricity and other payment methods.

Mike O'Brien: Tariffs are a commercial matter for individual supply companies, some of whom have reduced differentials between pre-payment meters for electricity and other payment types.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee on implementation of the multiannual programme for enterprise and entrepreneurship, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) met; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: The Enterprise Programme Management Committee met twice during the Italian presidency, on 4 July and 12 November 2003; once during the Irish presidency, on 18 March 2004; and twice during the Netherlands presidency on 8 July and 8 December 2004. Each meeting took place at the European Commission in Brussels. One member of the Small Business Service attended two of these meetings and two members attended the other three meetings. The Committee fulfils an important task in managing the Multi-Annual Programme, which helps to improve enterprise and entrepreneurship policy at Governmental and Commission levels and provides support to businesses. The UK nominates experts for the Programme's project groups that advise on aspects of enterprise and entrepreneurship. The Programme is due to be replaced by the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme in 2007. My hon. Friends the Economic Secretary, the Minister with responsibility for food, farming and sustainable energy and I have jointly sent UK recommendations to the European Commission on the content of the new Programme.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the Committee for the harmonisation of credit insurance provisions for transactions with medium- and long-term cover met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The Committee concerned meets only to consider a limited number of issues. It did not meet during the Italian, Irish or Dutch Presidencies.
	The European Council Working Group on Export Credits met five times in Brussels during each of the three Presidencies in question. Officials from ECGD were present at each of these meetings.

Gas Prices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the causes of wholesale gas price rises in the past 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Spot wholesale gas prices have risen due to a number of factors: tighter gas markets as production from the North Sea declines and the UK becomes a net importer of gas, and high-fossil fuel prices driving higher gas prices on the Continent, which feed into UK prices via the gas interconnector. On the forward market, there is also a fair amount of 'market sentiment' about tightness of supply over the next two winters as we move towards more import dependency. The Ofgem Price Probe, published on 5 October 2004, also attributed these reasons for the price movements over the previous year, and the concurrent Financial Services Authority investigation into gas prices in autumn 2003 found no evidence of market abuse.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met representatives of the energy intensive sectors of industry before Christmas and has asked officials to work with them to develop ideas for improving the operation of the forward gas market. My Department has also commissioned an independent consultant to analyse the current operation of the UK gas forward market and to identify the underlying causes of high forward prices for the next two winters.
	The Government are working to ensure that the right framework is in place to allow the market to deliver sufficient quantities of gas at competitive prices. This is already happening, as major new import projects come forward, due to come on-stream over the next 3 years. The Government are also encouraging the European Commission to ensure prompt and full implementation of the second EU liberalisation package, which will contribute to the development of more competitive markets across Europe.

Nuclear Security

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many incidents characterised as failures of security leading to unacceptable or undesirable consequences (a) have occurred at and (b) have been associated with personnel employed at licensed nuclear installations since 1 January 2004.

Mike O'Brien: I am advised that since 1 January 2004, there have been four incidents, which could be characterised as failures of security leading to unacceptable or undesirable consequences, that have occurred at licensed civil nuclear installations and one of these may have involved an employee.

Oil and Gas Production

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the ratio of offshore and onshore (a) flared and (b) vented associated gas to oil produced gas was in each year for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: The tables show annual offshore and onshore oil production, associated gas production, flaring and venting from oil producing fields, and the ratios of flaring and venting to the oil produced, since combined records for landward and seaward flaring and venting have been kept.
	
		Offshore oil production, gas flaring and venting—in cubic metres (m(17)) and thousand cubic metres (Km(17))
		
			  Oil Production m(17) Associated Gas Production Km(17) Gas Flared Km(17) Gas Vented Km(17) Ratio of Flared Gas to Oil Production (1 to n Km(17)/m(17)) Ratio of Vented Gas to Oil Production (1 to x Km(17)/m(17)) 
		
		
			 1979 61,482,814 7,207,480 6,528,344 0 106 — 
			 1980 64,933,732 7,245,871 4,580,540 0 71 — 
			 1981 77,932,535 10,334,941 4,238,218 0 54 — 
			 1982 95,583,994 13,935,654 4,017,198 0 42 — 
			 1983 107,655,522 16,346,156 3,734,138 19,985 35 0 
			 1984 141,430,215 21,925,657 3,399,136 329,176 24 2 
			 1985 149,116,847 24,327,363 2,677,625 338,428 18 2 
			 1986 154,679,166 25,865,305 2,155,514 379,269 14 2 
			 1987 155,774,808 27,935,387 2,256,414 339,341 14 2 
			 1988 164,597,956 32,180,666 2,335,759 312,769 14 2 
			 1989 138,914,095 30,906,713 2,485,698 185,187 18 1 
			 1990 138,119,864 28,888,023 2,732,865 97,453 20 1 
			 1991 135,920,216 31,221,148 2,476,022 56,641 18 0 
			 1992 141,837,918 35,924,277 2,438,222 69,807 17 0 
			 1993 143,121,367 40,863,083 2,479,598 65,274 17 0 
			 1994 165,237,678 51,049,012 3,156,534 56,383 19 0 
			 1995 165,343,790 55,508,296 5,805,151 33,257 35 0 
			 1996 162,503,170 59,718,242 2,513,065 24,434 15 0 
			 1997 157,909,202 60,580,328 2,205,676 35,554 14 0 
			 1998 159,084,087 68,388,042 2,137,428 40,792 13 0 
			 1999 160,437,949 77,044,484 2,189,774 270,815 14 2 
			 2000 148,032,604 76,489,996 1,858,075 123,389 13 1 
			 2001 138,282,385 77,820,312 1,737,953 76,332 13 1 
			 2002 136,526,578 81,664,017 1,609,620 78,612 12 1 
			 2003 125,061,489 77,188,639 1,488,068 133,335 12 1 
			 2004 110,528,268 70,004,711 1,503,565 30,504 14 0 
		
	
	
		Onshore oil production, gas flaring and venting—in cubic metres (m(17)) and thousand cubic metres (Km(17))
		
			  Oil Production m(17) Associated Gas Production Km(17) Gas Flared Km(17) Gas Vented Km(17) Ratio of Flared Gas to Oil Production (1 to n Km(17)/m(17)) Ratio of Vented Gas to Oil Production (1 to x Km(17)/m(17)) 
		
		
			 1979 52,825 1,595 1,595 0 30 — 
			 1980 198,926 7,848 7,570 0 38 — 
			 1981 173,377 5,888 1,933 0 11 — 
			 1982 196,386 7,257 1,432 0 7 — 
			 1983 258,597 10,197 3,634 0 14 — 
			 1984 275,864 11,053 5,363 0 19 — 
			 1985 349,142 15,817 9,134 0 26 — 
			 1986 500,770 37,165 18,418 0 37 — 
			 1987 592,161 59,709 19,230 65 32 0 
			 1988 827,419 75,047 21,636 301 26 0 
			 1989 788,704 87,203 18,121 1,313 23 2 
			 1990 2,042,300 158,580 80,943 2,140 40 1 
			 1991 4,416,671 311,038 41,749 16,696 9 4 
			 1992 4,746,264 347,107 29,049 12,513 6 3 
			 1993 4,469,458 343,413 39,957 13,174 9 3 
			 1994 5,597,733 409,066 38,210 11,421 7 2 
			 1995 6,101,749 452,801 36,320 16,842 6 3 
			 1996 6,375,987 408,847 48,477 14,526 8 2 
			 1997 6,066,305 398,918 30,613 14,808 5 2 
			 1998 6,285,694 410,141 27,199 23,423 4 4 
			 1999 5,160,063 357,094 24,525 26,470 5 5 
			 2000 3,940,434 264,071 20,912 10,078 5 3 
			 2001 3,596,477 239,680 15,944 545 4 0 
			 2002 3,244,733 243,339 19,625 526 6 0 
			 2003 2,666,145 202,182 25,024 845 9 0 
			 2004 2,325,763 158,245 21,770 467 9 0

Petrol Stations

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many retail petrol stations there were in the UK in each year since 1997 (a) in total and (b) broken down by region.

Mike O'Brien: The Energy Institute, formerly known as Institute of Petroleum, produces an annual Retail Survey" of the number of retail petrol filling stations in the UK. Historically, the regional breakdown data on petrol filling stations numbers have not been collected.
	
		
			  Total UK retail petrol filling stations 
		
		
			 1997 14,824 
			 1998 13,758 
			 1999 13,716 
			 2000 13,043 
			 2001 12,201 
			 2002 11,425 
			 2003 10,535 
			 2004 Figure to be published

Small Businesses (Lancashire)

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government have taken to help small businesses in Morecambe and Lunesdale since 1997.

Nigel Griffiths: The Business Link Operator for Lancashire has supported 2,318 businesses in the Lancaster area (which includes Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency) since 2001. This information is not available at constituency level. The Small Business Service (SBS) was set up as an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry in April 2000. Contracts were exchanged with a national network of 45 Business Link Operators (seven in the North West) to provide Business Support to small and medium sized enterprises from April 2001. Before this date Government support to businesses was provided through Training and Enterprise Councils and the Small Business Service does not have access to this data.
	The type of assistance provided by the Business Link Operator includes pre-starts, start up advice, intensive assistance, IT support and Investors in People.
	In addition a number of companies in the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency have received support under DTI programmes since 1997:
	Smart and its successor the Research and Development Scheme: Six companies—£434,207
	Regional Selective Assistance Scheme: One company—£180,000
	Enterprise Grant Scheme: 12 companies—£577,360.
	The Enterprise Grant scheme was replaced by the Selective Finance for Investment in England on 1 April 2004. No offers have been made to companies in this constituency under this scheme.
	A summary of support from Lancaster city council shows it paid out grants of £848,678 to support more than 30 companies in the Morecambe and Lunesdale area under the following schemes:
	
		
			 Scheme Number of businesses receiving grant Amount of grant paid out (£) Duration of scheme 
		
		
			 Lancaster City Council Business Development Scheme 12 25,459 1990 onwards 
			 North West Tourist Board Invest in the Best 8 94,709 1998–2002 
			 Promenade Business Frontage Scheme (SRB funded) Unspecified 220,958 1996–97 
			 Central Promenade Enhancements Scheme Unspecified 300,000 1996–97 
			 Poulton Neighbourhood Renewal 4 5,770 2003–04 
			 Enterprise in Rural Communities 6 (15)201,782 2002–04 
			 Total 30 plus 848,678  
		
	
	(15)This total included a grant payment of £129,606 to Carnforth Station Railway Trust, to generate Carnforth Station which now provides business space for four businesses creating 11 jobs.

CABINET OFFICE

Congestion Charge

George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much has been spent on congestion (a) charges and (b) penalty charge notices by the Department since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme.

Alan Milburn: Responsibility for congestion charges and penalty notice charges incurred by vehicles provided to Government Departments by the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA), rests with them. I have asked its Chief Executive, Nick Matheson, under the terms of the Framework Document to the GCDA to write to the hon. Member. Copies of his letter will be placed in the Library.
	Excluding GCDA services provided to the Cabinet Office, the amount spent on congestion charges by the Department is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Congestion charges (£) 
		
		
			 2002–03 8,928 
			 2003–04 9,608 
			 2004–05 (to date) 9,423 
		
	
	The Cabinet Office has not incurred any congestion penalty charges.

Ministerial Vehicles

David Taylor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what proportion of the fleet of ministerial vehicles used low sulphur fuels;
	(2)  how many ministerial car journeys (a) over 10 miles and (b) under 10 miles were undertaken in (a) 1998 and (b) 2004;
	(3)  what procedures are in place to measure the annual carbon dioxide emissions from ministerial vehicles;
	(4)  what steps have been taken since 1997 to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from ministerial vehicles.

Alan Milburn: The responsibility for the provision of ministerial cars and drivers has been delegated under the terms of the Framework Document to the Government Car and Despatch Agency. I have asked its Chief Executive Mr. Nick Matheson to write to my hon. Friend. Copies of his letter will be placed in the Library and will be printed in the Official Report.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Contact Committee for implementation of the Television without frontiers Directive met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The EU Contact Committee for the implementation of the Television without frontiers Directive met once during each presidency. The meetings took place in Brussels on:
	21 October 2003
	11 March 2004
	21 October 2004
	A DCMS official was present on each occasion.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many times during the(a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Advisory Committee for Cooperation in the Field of Tourism met; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Advisory Committee for Cooperation in the Field of Tourism, known as the Tourism Advisory Committee, met in Brussels on 4 September 2003 during the Italian presidency and on 15 September and 12 November during the Dutch presidency. The Committee did not meet during the Irish presidency. The UK Government was represented at these meetings by tourism officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

National Trust

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions (a) she and (b) her Department has had with the Director General of the National Trust.

Richard Caborn: The Secretary of State, the Minister for Media and Heritage and DCMS officials have regular discussions with the Director General of the National Trust. They most recently met on 2 February 2005.

National Trust

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance (a) she and (b) her Department has given to the Director General of the National Trust about its proposed administrative changes.

Richard Caborn: The National Trust is an independent, registered charity. The decision to implement any administrative changes rests solely with them.

National Trust

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations her Department has received about the proposed changes at the National Trust.

Richard Caborn: The Department has not received any representations about proposed changes at the National Trust.

Sport (West Midlands)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding has been allocated to building new sports facilities in the West Midlands region in the last five years.

Richard Caborn: In the last five years, Sport England, the Big Lottery Fund and the Football Foundation have allocated £131,463,349 to the West Midlands region through a wide range of sports facilities programmes.

DEFENCE

Allied Rapid Reaction Corps

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps' training programme is for the next 18 months.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 21 February 2005
	The only dedicated element of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps is its Headquarters, which is currently training as a High Readiness Force (Land) HQ. This involves exercising as a Corps and Land Component Headquarters for generic multinational deployments on warfighting and peace support operations. From April 2005 HQ ARRC will begin preparation for an expected deployment to Afghanistan in 2006 to lead the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). On present plans, HQ ARRC's ISAF training will involve two self contained Command Post exercises, periods of individual and collective military training and the NATO pre-operational directed training package. In addition, HQ ARRC will continue to support the training of UK formations, including the UK elements of the NATO Response Force throughout this period.

Army Prosecuting Authority

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on (a) the remit and (b) the powers of the Army Prosecuting Authority in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) the rest of the United Kingdom;
	(2)  what the membership is of the Army Prosecuting Authority; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many times the Army Prosecuting Authority has met since its coming into operation; and what the outcome was in each case.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 1 February 2005
	The Army Prosecuting Authority (APA) is a serving officer of Major General rank appointed by Her Majesty the Queen. The APA came into being on 1 April 1997 and meets regularly with his staff to discuss cases. In 2003 and 2004, 550 and 627 cases, respectively, were referred to the APA.
	The remit of the APA is to bring prosecutions under military law against British Army personnel in UK or abroad. Once a case has been referred to the APA, he has the power to determine, prefer or amend an appropriate charge, conduct court martial proceedings or discontinue proceedings on any charge. He also has the power to delegate any of his functions to a suitable qualified officer appointed by him. When exercising his prosecution function, the APA is subject to the general superintendence of the Attorney-General and is independent of the Chain of Command. There is no difference in these matters between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

Colombian Army

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2005, Official Report, column 1173W, on the Colombian Army, to which Colombian (a) engineer units and (b) national police units his Department has provided military assistance.

Adam Ingram: The assistance in question is to train individual trainers in bomb disposal. It is not given to formed units. Information on which engineer or police units the trainees come from is not held centrally.

Deepcut Barracks

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to investigate the allegations of Surrey police concerning intimidation of witnesses stationed at Deepcut Barracks by uniformed members of the Royal Military Police.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is aware of a media report concerning an allegation that a witness stationed at Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut was subject to intimidation by uniformed members of the Royal Military Police. We understand that this allegation has not been formally reported to either the Surrey police during the course of their investigations, or to the Ministry of Defence. Our own inquiries have, however, proved this allegation to be unfounded.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02 the RAF Personnel Manning Agency spent in Scotland (a) in monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The RAF Personnel Management Agency (PMA) is located at RAF Innsworth, Gloucester and relinquished Agency status on 1 April 2004. RAF PMA does not undertake specific activity in Scotland and no staff are employed in this area. There is, therefore, no identifiable expenditure within the personnel budget.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for financial years (a) 2001–02, (b) 2000–01, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 1998–99 and (e) 1997–98 the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency spent in Scotland in (i)monetary terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency (DGIA) was established in April 2000.
	The Agency has not directly employed any staff in Scotland since its formation, although members of both JARIC and GEG have deployed to Scotland in support of Defence Training Exercises.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for each financial year since 1997–98 the Disposal Services Agency spent in Scotland (a) in monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for each financial year since 1997–98 the Defence Secondary Care Agency spent in Scotland (a) in monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The Defence Secondary Care Agency (DSCA) was disbanded on 31 March 2003 and its functions were subsumed by the Defence Medical Education and Training Agency and the Defence Medical Services Directorate.
	For the numbers of DSCA personnel employed in Scotland in 2002–03 and 2001–02 I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 26 June 2003, Official Report, column 513W and 27 February 2002, Official Report, column 1284W. For the years 1997–98 to 2000–01 inclusive the only information available is that provided centrally by the Defence Analytical Services Agency in respect of civilian staff. This shows that no civilian staff were employed in Scotland by DSCA during that period.
	Financial information, including overall personnel related expenditure, for each financial year from 1997–98 to 2002–03 is detailed in the Agency's Annual Report and Accounts for each of the years in question. These were placed in the Library of the House. Personnel expenditure by region is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for each financial year since 1997–98 the Defence Procurement Agency spent in Scotland (a) in monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The DPA does not record costs on a geographical basis, neither does it retain historical information on the number of personnel employed in various locations, including Scotland, and as such cannot provide numbers relating to previous periods. Currently, the DPA has 112 posts in Scotland that, based on an average capitation rate, account for some £4.4 million. This is some 2.4 per cent. of the total personnel budget.

Defence Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much and what percentage of the UK procurement budget was spent in non-NATO countries in each year since 1997; what these figures represent as a percentage of the total defence budget in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Estimates of equipment expenditure in non-NATO countries since 1997 are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997–98 35 
			 1998–99 45 
			 1999–2000 30 
			 2000–01 30 
			 2001–02 25 
			 2002–03 50 
			 2003–04 80 
		
	
	These include sums spent with the United Kingdom owned companies and their subsidiaries attributed to these locations. The numbers have been rounded to the nearest £5 million.
	Because of lack of consistency over time, and limited coverage in the defence procurement Vote 1 , we have employed the Procurement Expenditure series that was published by the Defence Analytical Services Agency 2 in deriving the following percentages:
	1 Class 1, Vote 3, Systems Procurement and Research, was discontinued after 1998–99.
	2 The figures used were taken from Table 1.7, UK Defence Statistics 2002.
	
		
			  Percentage of procurement expenditure 
		
		
			 1997–98 0.37 
			 1998–99 0.44 
			 1999–2000 0.30 
			 2000–01 0.29 
			 2001–02 (16)n/a 
			 2002–03 (16)n/a 
			 2003–04 (16)n/a 
		
	
	(16)With the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting, the Procurement Expenditure series was discontinued.
	As a percentage of defence expenditure these figures constitute:
	
		
			  Percentage of Defence expenditure 
		
		
			 1997–98 0.17 
			 1998–99 0.20 
			 1999–2000 0.13 
			 2000–01 0.13 
			 2001–02 (17)0.10 
			 2002–03 (17)0.19 
			 2003–04 (17)0.27 
		
	
	(17)With the introduction of RAB there is a break in series in 2001–02. The cash" defence expenditure figure is no longer prepared: MOD's net cash requirement has been employed in subsequent calculations to provide a figure that is roughly comparable.

Departmental Documents

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list extant Defence Council Instructions.

Ivor Caplin: The information requested has been placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Finance

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by how much his Department's end of year flexibility was changed following the introduction of the Treasury's cash management scheme in financial years (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04.

Adam Ingram: Following the introduction of the Treasury's cash management scheme, the Department's end year adjustment (net charge) was £10K in 2002–03 and £25K in 2003–04. These adjustments were reflected in the carry forwards for 2003–04 and 2004–05 respectively.

Departmental Finance

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the monthly forecasts of payments and receipts provided to the Treasury under its cash management scheme for financial years 2002–03 to 2004–05.

Adam Ingram: Copies of the monthly forecasts of payments and receipts provided to the Treasury under its cash management scheme for financial years 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05 (April 2004 to January 2005) will be placed in the Library of the House in the next few days.

Departmental Finance

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to publish his Department's SR 2004 Departmental Investment Strategy.

Adam Ingram: The SR2004 Defence Departmental Investment Strategy will be published on the Ministry of Defence's website before Easter 2005.

Departmental Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07, and (c) 2007–08; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 2 February 2005, Official Report, column 910W.

Diversity and Equality

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officially designated diversity and equality officers have been appointed in each of the three armed forces to date; whether he plans to appoint further such officers in financial year 2004–05; and what estimate he has made of the total (a) pay, (b) allowances and (c) supporting staff for these officers in 2005–06.

Ivor Caplin: The number of officially designated diversity and equality officers appointed in each of the armed forces to date is as follows:
	
		Diversity and equality officers
		
			 Service Number Officer 
		
		
			 RN/RM 1 Commander 
			  2 Lieutenant Commander 
			 Army 1 Colonel 
			  1 Lieutenant Colonel 
			  2 Major 
			 RAF 1 Warrant Officer 
		
	
	There are no plans to appoint any further diversity and equality officers in financial year 2004–05. The estimated cost of the total pay and allowances for designated diversity and equality officers in 2005–06, based on general capitation rates for the relevant rank or grade, is £901,894.
	In the case of the Army the E1 civil servant provides dedicated support to the Equal Opportunities team. It is not possible to provide the exact cost for the RN and RAF of supporting staff as they provide services as part of a wider range of duties.
	In addition, every unit of the armed forces has an Equal Opportunities Adviser (EOA) who provides support to personnel by giving advice and guidance on equality and diversity issues. EOAs are not dedicated diversity and equality officers, the duties involved are performed as part of the individual's normal role.
	The total number of EOAs in the armed forces is not held centrally. EOAs do not receive any special allowances for carrying out their duties.

EU Defence Procurement

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his policy towards COM (2004) 608, the Communities Green Paper on Defence Procurement.

Adam Ingram: The European Commission's Green Paper on Defence Procurement sets out to open the debate on creating a more transparent and open European defence equipment market, and on promoting further the global competitiveness of European defence industry. The Government supports any initiative that aims to create a more open, effective and competitive European Defence Equipment Market and provided a detailed response on the Green Paper to the European Commission on 15 February 2005.

Financial Submissions

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of his Department's monthly financial submissions to the Treasury's general expenditure monitoring system for (a) financial years (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 2003–04 and (b) the first nine months of 2004–05.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministers in his Department have visited Gibraltar in the last six months; how long each visit was; what the reason for the visit was; whom each Minister met; how many visits by Trident nuclear submarines there were to (a) Spain and (b) Gibraltar in the last three years; and what the purpose of each visit was.

Adam Ingram: Two Defence Ministers have visited Gibraltar over the last six months. The Under Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Hove (Mr. Caplin), visited on 13–14 September 2004. He met Jewish Community Leaders, Royal Naval Hospital staff, Welfare Staff, Chief Minister, Regiment of Gibraltar members and veterans, and His Excellency the Governor. The primary purpose of the visit was discussions relating to the Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar. I visited Gibraltar on 10 February 2005. I met the Chief Minister, HQ British Forces Gibraltar staff, the Deputy Governor, Regiment of Gibraltar and Gibraltar Squadron personnel. The primary purpose of my visit was to inform the Chief Minister of the MOD's decision to outsource facilities management services in Gibraltar. There have been no visits to Spain or Gibraltar by Trident nuclear submarines in the last three years. .

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of jobs in his Department in Gibraltar; and what plans he has to change the number.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence currently employs 519 military personnel, 61 UK based civil servants and 1,038 locally employed civilians in Gibraltar. It was announced last week that, in line with Government policy to obtain best value for defence from the tax payer's money, we are implementing in Gibraltar the current UK and overseas best practice model for delivering facilities management. This involves outsourcing all the activities of the Gibraltar Defence Estates and the Joint Logistic Unit (except laundry and Motor Transport Engineering which are subject to separate efficiency proposals). Some two military, five UK based civilian and 296 locally employed civilian posts fall within the scope of the contract and are likely to transfer to the successful contractor. In addition to this initiative, a review of the supply of support services (eg janitorial, catering and motor transport) is also underway. The review team has yet to report, but a reduction of about 70–90 posts is likely if an in-house option is secured. If not, up to 300 posts could be contractorised.
	In addition, the Defence Communications and Services Agency (DCSA) in Gibraltar is also undertaking a review of its structure to improve effectiveness. It is planned that the DCSA will reduce the total number of staff and change the balance of employee types in favour of locally employed civilians. This is separate from the Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) initiative, which is due to impact on Gibraltar in 2007–08 and could lead to further outsourcing proposals. The DII initiative will replace our current administrative IT system. It is too early to assess what the impact will be, but up to 10 posts may beaffected. As with all organisations, the MOD in Gibraltar will change and adapt to reflect an evolving defence need and the most effective way of delivering it.

Interrogation Techniques

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK Government has carried out a comparative analysis of the interrogation techniques used by UK forces in South Eastern Iraq and US forces at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

Adam Ingram: Although we have considered reports of the United States interrogation techniques as part of our approach to prisoner transfer arrangements, no comprehensive comparison has been undertaken.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the longest period of time that a (a) man and (b) woman has been held in detention or imprisonment by British military forces in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: The longest period of time that a male security internee has been held by the United Kingdom forces is 22 months, since April 2003. For part of this period UK security internees were held by US forces at Camp Bucca. Since December 2003. all UK internees have been held at the UK-run Divisional Temporary Detention Facility.
	Records indicate that the only female security internee held at the DTDF by UK forces was in custodyfor three months, between November 2003 and February 2004.
	The only people currently in UK custody are security internees. The UK does not hold any criminal detainees or other categories of prisoners.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) men and (b) women have been released from detention or prison in Iraq by British military forces since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Adam Ingram: As at 21 February 2005, 400 male security internees and one female security internee have been released from the UK's Divisional Temporary Detention Facility (DTDF) at Shaibah Logistics Base in Southern Iraq. This does not include several thousand Prisoners of War released in April and May 2003.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the Iraqis killed in respect of whom UK military personnel are subject to investigation but where charges have not yet been brought; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There are 21 Iraqi deaths for which the United Kingdom military personnel are under investigation, excluding those cases which have already been directed for trial. The names of the 21 are:
	Zaher Sabti Zaher
	Ather Khalaf Mohammed
	Ali Saleem Aziz Mohammad
	Ahmed Jabber Kareem
	Said Shabram
	Waleed Sayay Muzban
	Baha Daoud Salim Musa
	G. G. H. D. Roomi
	Ali Alwan Sa'doon
	Tahseen Aliwey Mustasher
	Ukla Ataya, Alia Aziz, Basim Jassim Ja'Far Alar
	Husband of Mrs. Zinab Hydra Hussein
	Eheter Salman
	Abdul Hussan Talab Hassan
	Mrs. S. Kazim, Mrs. RZ Habib, Mrs. FT Zaab, Mrs. HS Naama, Mrs. S. Aziz
	In addition there are 12 cases under investigation where UK forces returned fire after being attacked and believe that one or more unknown Iraqis may have been killed.

Iraq

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on troop deployments in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: There are currently approximately 9,200 UK service personnel deployed on Operation TELIC, of which 7,900 are currently serving in Iraq. The figure includes 220 additional personnel deployed from 1 February 2005 in order to provide logistics and other essential support following the expected Dutch withdrawal from Al Muthanna province in March 2005. Approximately 70 of these personnel will return to the UK in March.

Iraq

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has made for permanent military bases and posts in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There are no plans for any permanent UK military bases in Iraq.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many deaths there have been in custody in Iraq (a) under UK forces control and (b) under US forces control; how many individuals taken into custody in Iraq have been moved outside the country by (i) UK forces and (ii) US forces; how many complaints alleging maltreatment of individuals taken into custody in Iraq have been made against (A) UK forces and (B) US forces; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 10 January 2005
	The service police have investigated seven incidences where individuals have died while in the custody of UK forces in Iraq. Three deaths occurred during detention at a UK facility, three occurred during operations shortly after the individuals were taken into custody, but before they had been formally detained, and one occurred during the transfer of a detainee on an aircraft. No individuals taken into custody by UK forces have been removed from Iraq. We have recorded 14 formal complaints made by detainees about their treatment after being taken into custody by the UK armed forces. All 14 have been investigated by the service police. We do not hold this information for US forces.

Kosovo

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the UK was of military action in Kosovo.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 February 2005
	The Ministry of Defence identifies the costs of operations in terms of the net additional costs it has incurred.
	Additional costs incurred for Kosovo are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1998–99 13.9 
			 1999–2000 325.2 
			 2000–01 220 
			 2001–02 141.9 
			 2002–03 87 
			 Total 788 
		
	
	From 2003–04 operations in Kosovo and Bosnia were merged into a joint Balkans operation for which costs are gathered centrally. The cost for the Balkan Operation (Kosovo/Bosnia) for 2003–04 was £103.6 million.
	Figures for 2004–05 will be published in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts for 2004–05 in the autumn.

Nepal

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to review the provision by his Department of military assistance and training to the Government of Nepal following King Gyanendra's abolition of democracy in the country; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Her Majesty's Government are extremely concerned by the recent events in Nepal and by the actions of the King there. We are monitoring the situation as it develops and working closely with interested countries such as India and the US to achieve a co-ordinated international response. As announced on 21 February, we have suspended plans to deliver to Nepal a package of non-lethal military equipment. We are also keeping under review other aspects of our policy with regard to Nepal, including the issue of military training.

Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what figures the Government uses as representing the total number of service personnel who have died in the troubles in Northern Ireland (a) on active duty, (b) through suicide and (c) through accidents.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence does not hold centrally compiled data covering deaths that occurred before 1984 as information on them is known to be unreliable.
	During the period 1 January 1984 and 31 December 2004, there were a total of 228 deaths of regular service personnel in Northern Ireland. Of these, 132 occurred on-duty and 49 occurred off-duty. The duty status of 47 personnel cannot be readily identified.
	The term active service" has various meanings in different contexts. However, the Service Discipline Act contains a specific definition for the purposes of that legislation. In order to avoid a more restrictive interpretation than may be intended by the question, the above figure is based on all deaths that have occurred on-duty.
	Forty-five of the 228 deaths were suicide or open verdict deaths, a further 86 of the 228 deaths were due to accidents. Some of the suicide and open verdict deaths, and deaths due to accidents occurred on duty and some occurred off duty. There are currently five deaths that are awaiting a coroner's verdict.
	In addition, between 1 January 1984 and 31 December 2004, there were 32 deaths among non-regular service personnel (TA, Royal Irish Regiments 3–9, NRPS, Reserve) in Northern Ireland. Of these, 10 were due to suicide and open verdicts. Information on the cause of the remaining 22 has not been centrally compiled.

Porton Down

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the letter reference D/US of S/K 0565/05/L of 8 February to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, when he expects to obtain a date for the Judicial Review into aspects of the death of service volunteers at Porton Down in the 1950s and 1960s.

Ivor Caplin: An application seeking permission judicially to review the inquest into the death of Ronald Maddison has been filed in court. The parties are due to acknowledge receipt formally. It is anticipated that formal permission to go to judicial review, if granted, will be given during April, with potential for the hearing in late spring or early summer.

Procurement Costs

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current forecast unit production cost is of the (a) Nimrod MRA4 and (b) Type 45 destroyer.

Adam Ingram: A contract for the production of 12 Nimrod MRA4 is planned for later in 2005 at which time a forecast unit production cost will be established. The current forecast unit production cost of a Type 45 Destroyer is £576 million based on the currently approved programme of six ships.

Procurement Costs

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with BAE Systems on (a) price and (b) time variations on the (i)Nimrod and (ii) Type 45 destroyer projects.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is in constant discussion with BAE Systems on a wide range of issues on both of these projects including time and cost.
	Negotiations are planned for the latter part of 2005 leading to a contract for the production phase of Nimrod MRA4, and to complete the contracting arrangements for the second batch of Type 45s (ships4–6).

US Nuclear Weapons

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many United States nuclear weapons are deployed in the United Kingdom; and what plans there are to change the numbers.

Geoff Hoon: I have nothing to add to the answer I gave on 28 April 2004, Official Report, column 996W, to the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mr. Thomas).

US Nuclear Weapons

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the interoperability of United Kingdom nuclear weapons with (a) current United States forces and (b) future United States forces and equipment deployed (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) at United Kingdom bases elsewhere.

Adam Ingram: No such assessment has been made.

World Security

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the nature is of the standing commitment referred to in each of the tables in the annex to Cm 6269, Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities".

Adam Ingram: The annex to the Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities" White Paper (Cm 6269) set out the force elements required to deliver UK defence policy, including meeting a range of 'Standing Commitments'. The force elements shown in the 'Standing Commitments' column in the annex are those permanently committed to a range of Military Tasks which are required concurrently with the forces for contingent operations (as described in the introduction to the annex). These include Strategic Intelligence; Nuclear Deterrence; Integrity of UK Waters and Airspace; and Defence and Security of the Overseas Territories.
	These Military Tasks (grouped under the headings: Standing Strategic Tasks and Standing Home and Overseas Commitments) are described in Supporting Essay 2 in the Delivering Security in a Changing World" White Paper (Cm 6041) of December 2003. These 'Standing Commitments' are part of the Department's overall approach to force structure planning. They should not be confused with the routine activities on which military units are employed on a day to day basis (tasks known colloquially as current military tasks or 'standing tasks' by the Royal Navy).

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the UN Security Council regarding illicit drug production and trafficking in Burma.

Bill Rammell: We have not made any representations to the UN Security Council specifically about the drug situation in Burma, since opium and amphetamine production and trafficking from Burma, although serious, does not represent a direct threat to the UK.
	We have however made clear to the UN, including members of the Security Council, our concerns about the situation in Burma, in which the destabilising effect of drugs is one part. There is no consensus at present to bring Burma before the Security Council.

Chagos Archipelago

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) the British representative in Diego Garcia and (b) the US authorities about the impact of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami on the Chagos Archipelago.

Bill Rammell: My officials are in daily contact with the British Representative on Diego Garcia who, in liaison with the US authorities there, has provided information about the damage sustained to the British Indian Ocean Territory.
	Initial reports from the British Representative suggested that the island sustained minimal damage. The most significant damage occurred in the south of the island, where a 500 metre tract of vegetation was destroyed. There was no loss of human life or damage to facilities. He has also reported that there has been no visible damage to the outer islands. The British Indian Ocean Territory Conservation Adviser will visit the Territory in February to make a formal assessment.

China

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Chinese authorities about the detention of the Chinese journalist Zhao Yan; and if he will make a statement on freedom of the press in China.

Bill Rammell: We are aware of Zhao Yan's case and are monitoring the situation. We are concerned about the freedom of the press in China and regularly raise our concerns at our biannual UK/China Human Rights Dialogue, the last round of which was held in Beijing on 22 November 2004.

China

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the differences are between the European Code of Conduct on Arms Export criteria and the European Arms Embargo criteria as they apply to China; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports was adopted by the Council of the European Union on 8 June 1998. It contains eight criteria which member states must follow when assessing applications for export of items on an agreed Common List of Military Equipment, which extends significantly beyond directly lethal weapons. In the UK, the Code is applied through the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, set out in a Statement given to my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Laura Moffatt) on 26 October 2000, Official Report, columns 199–203W, by the then Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain). The Code also contains the obligation on member states to provide data for an annual report on EU arms exports, and a denial notification and consultation mechanism. The embargo has no such transparency arrangements.
	The EU Arms Embargo on China predates the Code and the establishment of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy. In contrast with the Code, member states are free to interpret the embargo as they see fit, and there is no common understanding of its scope. The UK's interpretation was set out by the then Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the late Derek Fatchett, in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) on 3 June 1998, Official Report, columns 240–41.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on (a) indoor bought plants, (b) indoor hired plants, (c) outdoor bought plants and (d) outdoor hired plants in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The cost for providing (a) indoor bought plants, (b) indoor hired plants, (c) outdoor bought plants and (d) outdoor hired plants in each year since 1997 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Diplomatic Posts

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what effects on UK interests in South America he expects there to be as a result of the closure of the British embassy in Asuncio"n, Paraguay.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 28 February 2005
	The decision to close the British embassy in Asuncio"n was taken based on the need to align our resources with our priorities, to maximise efficiency and ensure that the UK has a cost-effective and flexible network of overseas representation.
	Her Majesty's Government continue to engage actively with Latin American Governments. I have travelled extensively in the region, taking the opportunity to discuss important bilateral and multilateral issues. The UK and Latin America share many values and international concerns and I have no doubt that our strong links will continue.
	As we have made clear to the Paraguayan Government, we aim to conduct future relations and look after UK interests, via the accreditation of our ambassador in Buenos Aires and through the appointment of an honorary consul in Asuncio"n.

EU Constitutional Treaty

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how he plans to co-ordinate his Department's efforts to promote the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union with the EU Parliament's task force.

Denis MacShane: I have no such plans.

EU Enlargement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of Article 1–5 of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe on (a) future internal enlargement of the EU whereby part of an existing member state becomes a separate member state of the EU, (b) transfer of territory from one member state to another and (c) the scope of possible arrangements between the UK and Spain on the future of Gibraltar.

Denis MacShane: In relation to (a) and (b) , the hypothetical implications, legal and political, of part of an existing EU member state becoming independent or of the transfer of territory from one member state to another would have to be considered at the time in thelight of all the circumstances. In relation to (c) the EU Constitutional Treaty preserves continuity for Gibraltar's status.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) a decision in Parliament and (b) a referendum will be required for the accessions of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey to the EU if the European Constitution is ratified and accession negotiations are successful.

Denis MacShane: Romania and Bulgaria officially closed their accession negotiations at the European Council in December 2004. The EU will sign an Accession Treaty with both countries on 25 April with the aim of completing their accession on 1 January 2007. As in the case of previous enlargements, a referendum is not necessary but legislation will be needed to amend the European Communities Act 1972 to give effect to the Accession Treaty in UK law. The same procedure will apply for Turkey if its accession negotiations are successful.
	For applications made after entry into force of the Constitutional Treaty, there would be one change to the existing procedures. The existing Treaties require an application to join the EU to be addressed to the Council". The Constitutional Treaty would require, in addition, that in future
	The European Parliament and national parliaments shall be notified of this application".
	But the remaining stages of an accession process (including those in the UK) would, under the Constitutional Treaty, proceed along the same lines as at present.

European Court of Justice

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) name and (b) nationality is of each member of the European Court of Justice; and if he will list for each member (i)any known political affiliation, (ii) any known religious affiliation or denomination and (iii) any known membership of trade unions, Masonic organisations, religious groups or other bodies.

Denis MacShane: The members of the European Court of Justice are:
	Vassilios Skouris, Greek
	Francis Geoffrey Jacobs, British
	Claus Christian Gulmann, Danish
	Antonio Mario La Pergola, Italian
	Jean-Pierre Puissochet, French
	Philippe Le"ger, French
	Peter Jann, Austrian
	Da"maso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Spanish
	Romain Schintgen, Luxembourgeois
	Ninon Colneric, German
	Stig von Bahr, Swedish
	Antonio Tizzano, Italian
	Jose" Narciso da Cunha Rodrigues, Portuguese
	Christiaan Willem Anton Timmermans, Dutch
	Leendert A. Geelhoed, Dutch
	Christine Stix-Hacki, Austrian
	Allan Rosas, Finnish
	Rosario Silva de Lapuerta, Spanish
	Koen Lenaerts, Belgian
	Juliane Kokott, German
	Luis Miguel Poiares Pessoa Maduro, Portuguese
	Konrad Hermann Theodor Schiemann, British
	Jerzy Makarczyk, Polish
	Pranas Kuris, Lithuanian
	Endre Juha"sz, Hungarian
	George Arestis, Greek
	Anthony Borg Barthet, Maltese
	Marko Ilesic, Slovenian
	Jiri Malenovsky, Czech
	Jan Klucka, Slovakian
	Uno Lohmus, Estonian
	Egils Levits, Latvian
	Aindrias O Caoimh, Irish
	Roger Grass, French
	Like judges in most democracies members of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) are not required to disclose the religious, political or other details sought by the hon. Member. Details of the members' backgrounds can, however, be found on the ECJ website: http://www.curia.eu.int/.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his statement on Iraq on 31 January 2005, Official Report, column 573, what the source is of the statement that the remains of 300,000 people had been buried in mass graves in Iraq; and what steps the Government have taken to verify these figures.

Bill Rammell: In May 2003 Human Rights Watch estimated that there were at least 290,000 people missing in Iraq and stated
	the answer to their whereabouts likely lies in these graves".
	USAID is quoted as estimating in January this year that there are between 260 and 270 mass graves in Iraq and they estimate that between 300,000 and 400,000 people are buried in them. More recent estimates of the number of mass graves have revised the figure downward to 187. The final figure will not be known until all the graves have been completely exhumed. The figures we have used are the best estimates available to us at the moment.
	We are working with the authorities in Iraq and in co-ordination with the United Nations to establish a national centre for missing persons and exhumations policy in Baghdad. It will provide the forensic and social expertise to manage the sensitive task of helping reunite families with the remains of their lost relatives and provide forensic evidence to support prosecutions of those who perpetrated mass murder. We have provided training for forensic and other experts who will carry out the exhumations and we are also providing judicial, prosecutor and investigator training for the Iraq Special Tribunal tasked with bringing to justice those responsible for mass killings in Iraq. So far one gravesite in Hatra has been partially exhumed to obtain forensic evidence for prosecutions and a second exhumation is planned soon. No official humanitarian exhumations have begun partly due to poor security but also because the infrastructure has not yet been established to manage this properly. We will continue to work with the Iraqi authorities and the United Nations to establish this infrastructure so that humanitarian exhumations can start as soon as possible.

Lesotho

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the withdrawal of the UK High Commissioner to Lesotho.

Chris Mullin: Our high commissioner to Lesotho has not been withdrawn. As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear in his written statement on 15 December 2004, Official Report, columns 137–41WS, we are making changes to our overseas network to reflect changing demands and challenges and to ensure the UK has a cost-effective and flexible network of overseas representation. This involves the closure of several diplomatic posts including the high commission in Maseru. We envisage the high commission closing around the end of 2005.
	This is in no way a reflection on the current Government of Lesotho or on the quality of our bilateral relations. We will work with the Government of Lesotho to establish alternative forms of British representation, probably through an honorary consul in Maseru, supported by non-resident accreditation from Pretoria.

Ministerial Articles (Remuneration)

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial remuneration has been received by Ministers in his Department for the writing of articles in foreign media since May 1997.

Jack Straw: None.

Russia

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs when (a) he and (b) a delegation from his Department last visited Russia.

Jack Straw: holding answer 24 February 2005
	My last visit to Russia was from 6–7 July 2004, although Iregularly see Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in the margins of international meetings and speak to him on the telephone.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and staff frequently make working visits to Russia. The most recent was on 21–22 February, when my hon. Friend the Minister responsible for the UK's relations with Russia, my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Mr. Rammell) visited Moscow. In addition to his programme of meetings with the Russian Government, my hon. Friend launched a major UK-Russia education initiative for the North Caucasus and took part in a conference on British Political Traditions and Russian Reform".

Russia

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to meet the Russian Foreign Minister.

Jack Straw: holding answer 24 February 2005
	I plan to have a bilateral meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, in London on 1 March. Mr.Lavrov will attend The London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority" the same day.

Russia

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have plans to visit Russia.

Jack Straw: I do not have any plans to visit Russia in the immediate future. However, I will be meeting Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in London on 1 March.
	As the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Mr. Rammell) has visited Russia very recently, there are not yet plans for another visit by a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister.

Russia

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) he and (b) members of his Department plan to visit the Russian Economic Forum taking place in London from 10 to 12 April.

Jack Straw: holding answer 24 February 2005
	At the moment I have no plans to attend the Russian Economic Forum, although the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will certainly be represented. In previous years Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and officials have played an active part in the Forum, which is the most important annual UK-Russia economic event.

UN Committee on Torture

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the United Nations Committee on Torture's conclusions in relation to the UK's adherence to the Convention against Torture in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bill Rammell: The United Kingdom Government notes the Concluding Observations of the United Nations Committee against Torture following its dialogue with the Committee on the UK's 4th Periodic Report on 17 and 18 November, The Government always takes seriously the recommendations made by any of the UN's treaty monitoring bodies.
	The Government are studying the Committee's observations and recommendations in detail, including on the application of the UN Convention in Iraq and Afghanistan, and will respond to the Committee well within the period of one year set by the Committee.

HEALTH

Alcohol-related Hospital Admissions

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to (a) the Leicester Royal Infirmary accident and emergency department and (b) accident and emergency departments in England were found to be directly caused by alcohol consumption in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available in the format requested. However, information for finished admission episodes for alcohol-related incidents is shown in the following tables.
	
		Alcohol related accidents(18): count of finished admission episodes for listed trusts, national health service hospitals in England—1996–97 to 2003–04
		
			  Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS trust Total figures for Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS trust, Leicester general hospital NHS trust, Glenfield hospital NHS trust University hospitals of Leicester NHS trust 
		
		
			 1996–97 77 80 — 
			 1997–98 79 83 — 
			 1998–99 140 144 — 
			 1999–2000 85 89 — 
			 2000–01 — — 83 
			 2001–02 — — 75 
			 2002–03 — — 98 
			 2003–04 — — 207 
		
	
	(18)ICD—10 codes = alcohol related accidents" as advised by NHSIA Clinical Coding Service Primary Diagnosis:
	SOO—T74 Injuries (excludes certain cause of injury).
	Secondary Diagnosis:
	F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol.
	R78.0—Finding of alcohol in blood.
	X45—Alcohol poisoning and exposure to alcohol.
	Y90—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by alcohol level.
	Y91—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by level of intoxication.
	Notes:
	1.The Leicester Royal Infirmary ceased to exist as an independent trust in 2000–01, when it merged with Leicester general hospital NHS trust and Glenfield hospital NHS trust to form university hospitals of Leicester NHS trust. Figures have been provided in column one for Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS trust, and a total in column two in order to provide equivalent figures for the three trusts that now constitute the university hospitals of Leicester NHS trust column three.
	2.Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
	
		Alcohol related accidents(19): count of finished admission episodes for listed trusts. national health service hospitals in England—1996–97 to 2003–04
		
			  Finished admission episodes 
		
		
			 1996–97 23,546 
			 1997–98 25,294 
			 1998–99 24,157 
			 1999–2000 24,519 
			 2000–01 23,570 
			 2001–02 23,198 
			 2002–03 22,787 
			 2003–04 27,902 
		
	
	(19)ICD—10 codes=alcohol related accidents" as advised by NHS Information Authority clinical coding service.
	Primary Diagnosis:
	SOO—T74 Injuries (excludes certain cause of injury).
	Secondary Diagnosis:
	F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol.
	R78.0—Finding of alcohol in blood.
	X45—Alcohol poisoning and exposure to alcohol.
	Y90—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by alcohol level.
	Y91—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by level of intoxication.
	Notes:
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Ambulance Services

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on ambulance services within the Greater London area in each of the last three years.

Stephen Ladyman: The London Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust covers the whole Greater London area.
	The information requested is not held centrally. However, the table shows income figures for the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust for the past three years.
	
		Income—London Ambulance Services NHS Trust
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 2001–02 135,775,000 
			 2002–03 160,750,000 
			 2003–04 168,508,000

Ambulance Services

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many ambulances are operational in Lancashire during the (a) day and (b) night;
	(2)  what the average time patients waited to be taken home by ambulance following discharge was at (a) Chorley Hospital and (b) Preston Hospital in the last period for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Child Mental Health

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialists in child mental health are employed in Lancashire Mental Health Trust.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Hospital, public health medicine and community health service: medical staff within the child and adolescent psychiatry specialty in Lancashire Care National Health Service Trust—as at 30 September 2003
		
			  Number (headcount) 
		
		
			 All staff 1 
			 of which:  
			 Senior house officer 1 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.

Departmental Expenditure (Research and Development)

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) his Department's expenditure and (b) the expenditure of each agency for which his Department is responsible on research and development relating to UK university departments and research centres was in each year between 2001–02 and 2003–04.

Melanie Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 15 February 2005, Official Report, columns 139–42W.

Drug Misusers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many drug misusers were also diagnosed with mental illness in each year since 1986; and what proportion these figures represent of the total number of drug misusers in each year.

Melanie Johnson: The data are not collected centrally.

Endometriosis

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been provided for research into endometriosis in each year since 1997–98.

Melanie Johnson: The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.
	MRC expenditure in the seven years from 1997–98 on research into endometriosis is shown in the table.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997–98 1.7 
			 1998–99 1.8 
			 1999–2000 1.8 
			 2000–01 1.2 
			 2001–02 1.2 
			 2002–03 1.0 
			 2003–04 Not yet available 
		
	
	The MRC does not normally allocate funds to particular topics. Research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. When appropriate, high quality research, in particular areas of strategic importance, may be given priority in competition for funds, but research excellence and importance to health continues to be the primary considerations in funding decisions. The MRC always welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding.
	The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national health service. The Department's national research programme has, since 1997, funded one project related to endometriosis at a cost, to 31 March 2004, of £320,000.
	Over 75 per cent, of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of completed and ongoing projects, including a number concerned with endometriosis, can be found on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.

Food Dyes

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence the Food Standards Agency has examined concerning the effect of azo dyes other than Sudan I in food.

Melanie Johnson: The Food Standards Agency has reviewed the available safety data on three other Sudan dyes (Sudan II, Sudan III and Sudan IV) and concluded that as with Sudan I that they should also be regarded as genotoxic carcinogens.
	A number of other azo dyes are permitted for use as food colours in the European Union based on opinions on their safety delivered by independent experts on the Scientific Committee on Food. The safety of all permitted additives is kept under review. The European Commission has recently asked the European Food Safety Authority to re-evaluate the safety of all permitted food additives.

General Practitioners (Chorley)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of people per general practitioner is in (a) Chorley constituency and (b) the Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust.

Melanie Johnson: The information is not available relating to the Chorley constituency. Information relating to the Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust (PCT) is shown in the table.
	
		Population per general medical practitioner (excluding retainers, registrars and locums), for Chorley and South Ribble PCT—as at 30 June 2004
		
			 Chorley and South Ribble 5F2 Number (headcount) 
		
		
			 All general medical practitioners (excluding retainers,  registrars and locums) 115 
			 Weighted population 201,241 
			 Population per general medical practitioner (excluding  retainers, registrars and locums) 1,750 
		
	
	Note:
	All practitioners (excluding retainers, registrars and locums) include general medical service (GMS) unrestricted principals, personal medical service (PMS) contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (para. 52 SFA), PMS other and flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	Sources:
	Department of Health GMS and PMS statistics.
	Department of Health populations adjusted for age and need using the GMS non cash-limited component of the weighted capitation formula.

Health Service Expenditure

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much public funding has been spent on health in Morecambe and Lunesdale in each of the last 10 years.

Melanie Johnson: Expenditure based on individual constituencies is not available, nor are data prior to 1996–97. The expenditure in Morecambe Bay Health Authority area and Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority area is shown in the table.
	
		Expenditure in Morecambe Bay Health Authority and Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority
		
			 Morecambe Bay Health Authority area £000 
		
		
			 1996–97 202,763 
			 1997–98 203,353 
			 1998–99 253,162 
			 1999–2000 327,800 
			 2000–01 424,583 
			 2001–02 555,771 
			 2002–03 n/a 
			 2003–04 n/a 
			   
			 Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority area 
			 1996–97 n/a 
			 1997–98 n/a 
			 1998–99 n/a 
			 1999–2000 n/a 
			 2000–01 n/a 
			 2001–02 n/a 
			 2002–03 2,337,249 
			 2003–04 2,421,861 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Expenditure is taken from audited health authority summarisation forms and primary care trust summarisation schedules, which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. Figures are given in cash terms.
	2.Allocations per weighted head of population provide a much more reliable measure to identify differences between funding of health authorities and primary care trusts.
	3.Figures for 1996–97 to 2001–02 have been prepared using gross expenditure figures. Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 have been adjusted to eliminate expenditure which would be double counted where an authority acts as a lead in commissioning healthcare or other services.
	4.In many health authorities there are factors which distort the expenditure. These include:
	the health authority acting in a lead capacity to commission healthcare or fund training on behalf of other health bodies; and
	asset revaluations in national health service trusts being funded through health authorities or primary care trusts.
	Cumbria and Lancashire acting as paying authority for student bursaries.
	5.For these reasons expenditure cannot be compared reliably between health authorities or between different years.
	Sources:
	1.Morecambe Bay Health Authority audited accounts 1996–97 and 1997–98.
	2.Morecambe Bay Health Authority audited summarisation forms 1998–99 to 2001–02.
	3.Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority audited summarisation forms 2002–03 and 2003–04.
	4.Primary care trust audited summarisation schedules 2003–04 for bodies within the above health authority areas.

Health Service Expenditure

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average health expenditure per head of population in Rochdale constituency was in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004.

Melanie Johnson: Information requested on expenditure based on individual constituencies is not collected.
	However, the expenditure per weighted head of population in Bury and Rochdale health authority in 1996–97 was £645.61 and in the Greater Manchester strategic health authority (SHA) area in 2003–04 £1,097.30.
	Sources:
	Bury and Rochdale Health Authority audited accounts 1996–97. Greater Manchester SHA audited summarisation forms 2003–04. Primary care trust audited summarisation schedules 2003–04 for bodies within the Greater Manchester area. Weighted population figures 1996–97 and 2003–04.

HIV/AIDS

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to (a) Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Primary Care Trust and (b) Preston Primary Care Trust for treating AIDS patients was in the last year for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected centrally. In line with our policy of Shifting the Balance of Power", primary care trusts (PCTs) now control over 80 per cent., of the national health service budget and are responsible for planning and developing services according to the health needs of local people. In 2004–05, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT and Preston PCT received allocations of £114.1 million and £155 million respectively.
	By 2007–08, these allocations will increase to £166.4 million and £207 million.

Mental Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in NHS hospitals in England have been under the care of (a) a mental illness consultant and (b) a learning disabilities consultant in each year since 1986.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available in the format requested. Information on the number of admissions to national health service hospitals under mental illness and learning disability specialties in each year since 1986 is shown in the table.
	
		Admissions to NHS hospitals under mental illness and learning disability specialties, 1986–87 to 2003–04
		
			  Mental illness Learning disability 
		
		
			 1986 197,250 40,060 
			 1987–88 187,800 37,600 
			 1988–89 190,600 36,800 
			 1989–90 185,010 39,110 
			 1990–91 188,310 48,360 
			 1991–92 200,110 48,570 
			 1992–93 209,730 51,410 
			 1993–94 217,310 52,500 
			 1994–95 216,550 53,990 
			 1995–96 214,560 52,500 
			 1996–97 210,320 53,200 
			 1997–98 203,760 54,030 
			 1998–99 198,640 44,580 
			 1999–2000 195,320 37,920 
			 2000–01 186,990 35,610 
			 2001–02 182,220 38,200 
			 2002–03(20) 174,450 35,180 
			 2003–04(20) 162,250 28,820 
		
	
	(20)Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.
	Note:
	Data for 1986 are for the calendar year. From 1987 to 1988, data are for financial years.
	Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	The columns in the table relate to patients who are admitted to hospital under mental illness and learning disability specialities.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics.

Mental Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) men and (b) women have been detained under (i) section 2, (ii) section 3 and (iii) section 4 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in England in each year since 1986; and how many have been voluntarily detained as psychiatric in-patients in each year since 1986.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available in the requested format. Information on the number of detentions under sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Mental Health Act 1983 of patients, on admission and subsequent to admission in national health service facilities, including high security psychiatric hospitals, in England in each of the last 17 and eight years for which data are available is shown in table A. Information on the number of detentions under these sections of the Act of patients on admission and subsequent to admission in independent hospitals in England in each of the last eight years for which information is available is shown in table B. Information on the gender of patients detained subsequent to admission to hospital is not collected.
	
		Table A: Number of detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983 of patients, on admission under Section 2, Section 3 and Section 4 and subsequent to admission in NHS facilities (including high security psychiatric hospitals), in England, 1987–88 to 2003–04
		
			   Detentions on admission in NHS facilities Detentions 
			  Total detentions (on admission and subsequent to admission) in NHS facilities Male Section 2Section 3Section 4 Female Section 2Section 3Section 4 subsequent to admission in NHS facilities 
		
		
			 2003–04 31,852 6,908 4,437 865 6,742 3,798 718 8,384 
			 2002–03 31,952 6,989 4,460 900 6,634 3,926 903 8,140 
			 2001–02 32,082 6,530 4,272 1,059 6,497 3,877 976 8,871 
			 2000–01 32,348 6,746 4,729 967 6,406 4,226 816 8,458 
			 1999–2000 32,214 6,502 4,733 1,010 6,438 4,297 827 8,407 
			 1998–99 32,398 6,632 4,657 937 6,568 4,434 752 8,418 
			 1997–98 30,212 6,140 4,580 857 6,085 4,274 723 7,553 
			 1996–97 28,022 5,652 4,402 788 5,432 4,077 694 6,977 
			 1995–96 29,098 6,078 4,671 733 6,214 4,244 630 6,528 
			 1994–95 28,918 6,376 4,188 726 6,472 4,143 685 6,328 
			 1993–94 26,430 5,952 3,713 640 6,209 3,719 656 5,541 
			 1992–93 24,350 5,451 3,108 633 5,963 3,243 604 5,348 
			 1991–92 23,125 5,089 2,616 800 5,980 2,858 755 5,027 
			 1990–91 20,786 4,504 1,881 687 5,639 2,168 799 5,108 
			 1989–90 18,741 4,195 1,415 822 5,286 1,578 1,047 4,398 
			 1988–89 18,910 4,010 1,312 879 5,416 1,517 1,139 4,637 
			 1987–88 17,218 3,655 1,182 940 5,060 1,313 1,240 3,828 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.A patient may be detained more than once.
	2.Data on patients detained subsequent to admission were not collected in respect of high security psychiatric hospitals prior to 1996–97.
	3.Data on patients detained subsequent to admission are not collected by gender.
	4.Data on patients detained in 1986 were collected on a calendar year basis and therefore are not included in the table.
	5.Detentions subsequent to admission include changes from Section 136 to Sections 2 and 3 and Informal to Sections 2 and 3.
	6.Section 4 are emergency admissions therefore changes from Informal to Section 4 are not collected.
	
		Table B: Number of detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983 of patients, on admission under Section 2, Section 3 and Section 4 and subsequent to admission in independent hospitals, in England, 1996–97 to 2003–04
		
			   Detentions on admission in independent facilities Detentions 
			  Total detentions (on admission and subsequent to admission) in independent facilities  Male Section 2Section 3Section 4  Female Section 2Section 3Section 4 subsequent to admission in independent facilities 
		
		
			 2003–04 1,253 262 395 1 198 257 6 134 
			 2002–03 1,286 264 370 6 159 251 6 230 
			 2001–02 1,680 329 476 11 244 370 9 241 
			 2000–01 1,367 271 406 6 220 299 6 159 
			 1999–2000 1,480 302 381 9 243 288 10 247 
			 1998–99 1,289 261 313 12 193 248 18 244 
			 1997–98 1,061 208 246 11 181 211 9 195 
			 1996–97 941 166 198 15 156 214 24 168 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.A patient may be detained more than once.
	2.Data on patients detained subsequent to admission were not collected in respect of Independent hospitals prior to 1996–97.
	3.Data on patients detained subsequent to admission are not collected by gender.
	4.Detentions subsequent to admission include changes from Section 136 to Sections 2 and 3 and Informal to Sections 2 and 3.
	5.Section 4 admissions are emergency admissions therefore changes from Informal to Section 4 are not collected.
	Information on the number of admissions to NHS hospitals under mental illness and learning disability specialties since 1986 is shown in table C. This includes both voluntary and compulsory admissions. This information is not available for the independent sector.
	
		
			  Mental illness Learning disability 
		
		
			 1986 197,250 40,060 
			 1987–88 187,800 37,600 
			 1988–89 190,600 36,800 
			 1989–90 185,010 39,110 
			 1990–91 188,310 48,360 
			 1991–92 200,110 48,570 
			 1992–93 209,730 51,410 
			 1993–94 217,310 52,500 
			 1994–95 216,550 53,990 
			 1995–96 214,560 52,500 
			 1996–97 210,320 53,200 
			 1997–98 203,760 54,030 
			 1998–99 198,640 44,580 
			 1999–2000 195,320 37,920 
			 2000–01 186,990 35,610 
			 2001–02 182,220 38,200 
			 2002–03(21) 174,450 35,180 
			 2003–04(21) 162,250 28,820 
		
	
	(21)Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.
	Notes:
	1.Data for 1986 is for the calendar year. From 1987 to 1988, data is for calendar years.
	2.Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	3.The columns in the table relate to patients who are admitted to hospital under mental illness and learning disability specialities.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics.

Mental Health

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on new money for mental health in Lancashire;
	(2)  what funding has been allocated to health services in rural areas in South Lancashire in 2004–05.

Melanie Johnson: Over 80 per cent. of national health service resources are allocated to primary care trusts (PCTs), which are responsible for commissioning health services to meet the needs of their local populations. The table shows allocations to PCTs in the Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area.
	
		PCT resource revenue allocations: Cumbria and Lancashire SHA area -- £ million
		
			  Allocation 
			 PCT 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 
		
		
			 Blackburn with Darwen 158,299 175,336 207,706 227,152 
			 Blackpool 166,655 182,076 213,766 232,537 
			 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale 264,963 289,574 339,612 371,238 
			 Carlisle and District 102,316 111,989 187,964 158,474 
			 Chorley and South Ribble 171,696 188,153 242,737 266,714 
			 Eden Valley 58,439 63,669 83,150 90,291 
			 Fylde 63,955 69,679 87,963 95,208 
			 Hyndburn and Ribble Valley 103,859 114,072 152,279 166,452 
			 Morecambe Bay 289,864 316,293 404,393 438,522 
			 Preston 141,957 154,662 191,684 207,042 
			 West Cumbria 122,798 133,788 171,945 188,244 
			 West Lancashire 97,085 106,387 136,355 149,392 
			 Wyre 112,822 123,458 158,954 174,770

Mental Health

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on funding for the Lancashire Mental Health Trust.

Melanie Johnson: The Department does not provide funding directly to the Lancashire Care Trust. Resources are allocated to local primary care trusts to enable them to commission services to meet the health needs of their local population.

MRSA

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the percentage of patients in hospitals in each NHS Trust in Greater London who are infected with MRSA.

Melanie Johnson: Information on the percentage of patients in hospitals who are infected with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is not collected centrally.
	However, national and regional information on the mandatory MRSA surveillance system is published on the Health Protection Agency's website at www.hpa.org.uk/cdr/archives/2004/cdr2904.pdf.

MRSA

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the steps which are being taken to fight MRSA at (a) Chorley and (b) Preston Hospital.

Melanie Johnson: The Department takes the issue of healthcare associated infections very seriously and has told the national health service that infection control should be at the heart of good management and clinical practice.
	The Department has set a target to reduce methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus" by 50 per cent., by 2008 from an April 2005 baseline. The National Patient Safety Agency launched the first national hand hygiene campaign, cleanyourhands" in September 2004. Commitments in the Chief Medical Officer's publication, Winning Ways" and the Department's action plan, Towards Cleaner Hospitals and Lower Rates of Infection" and the NHS's Matron's Charter" have focused on evidence-based actions to reduce infections.

NHS Investment (Chorley)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what capital investment was made in NHS facilities in Chorley in each year since 1998.

Melanie Johnson: The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows capital investment in national health service organisations that provide services in Chorley.
	
		
			  Amount (£000) 
		
		
			 1998–99 3,786 
			 1999–2000 7,021 
			 2000–01 7,403 
			 2001–02 18,727 
			 2002–03 19,544 
			 2003–04 31,469 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.The figures in the table do not include private finance initiative (PFI) expenditure where PFI costs are revenue expenditure in the books of NHS bodies.
	2.Capital investment will vary between years owing to the investment decisions at individual NHS bodies.
	Sources:
	1.Audited summarisation schedules of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (2002–03 and 2003–04) and its predecessor NHS trusts (1998–99 to 2001–02).
	2.Audited summarisation schedules of Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust 2001–02 to 2003–04.

Self-harm

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions have been due to deliberate self-harm in (a) persons aged under 18 and (b) persons aged 18 years and over in each year since 1986.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not centrally available. The Department collects information on numbers of finished consultant episodes of people who have been admitted in national health service hospitals with a primary diagnosis of injury and poisoning. However, it is not possible to ascertain the number of admissions due to deliberate self harm.
	As part of the implementation of the national suicide prevention strategy, three centres have been established to monitor deliberate self-harm and provide accurate data on national trends and patterns to help inform suicide prevention interventions and detect changing patterns or local variations.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Beneficial Ownership

Brian Wilson: To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on progress with the review of beneficial ownership of land.

David Lammy: The report on Land Registry's Quinquennial Review, published in June 2001, recommended that consideration be given to including details of the beneficial or true ownership of land on the land register for England and Wales. In response to a previous question from my right hon. Friend on 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 217W, I announced that the planned consultation between Land Registry, the then Lord Chancellor's Department and other Government departments would be deferred pending a review of the timing of the several consultations to be carried out by Land Registry.
	Following completion of this review in summer 2004, it was agreed that internal consultation with other interested Government departments should proceed with a view to deciding whether the recommendation warrants being taken forward to a public consultation. This internal consultation is still on-going. No time limit has been set for final decisions to be made although I can confirm that they will be announced to Parliament in due course.

European Convention on Human Rights

Adam Price: To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the United Kingdom Government plans to ratify the Seventh Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights.

David Lammy: The Government will be in a position to ratify this Protocol when legislation revoking some obsolete family law provisions has been passed. The Government are awaiting a suitable legislative vehicle to achieve that.

Iraq

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Lord Chancellor was involved in (a) framing, (b) drafting and (c) drawing up the parliamentary answer given by the Attorney-General on 17 March 2003 on Iraq.

Christopher Leslie: The Lord Chancellor, the Lord Falconer of Thoroton had no role in framing, drafting or drawing up the answer.

Targets

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by the Department and its predecessors; and, of these, which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 75W.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Cleaning

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the costs of cleaning the Department and its predecessors were in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002, since when the following has been spent on office cleaning in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (C).
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 May 2002-March 2003 765,200 
			 April 2003-March 2004 707,600 
		
	
	These figures do not include VAT or any sums recovered from other Government Departments, but do include consumable items such as toilet paper, soap, etc. The figures include all internal cleaning and cleaning of some external windows where it has not been possible to identify this as a separate cost.
	The cost of cleaning the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's agencies in the same period was:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 May 2002-March 2003 600,000 
			 April 2003-March 2004 598,500 
		
	
	These figures include the Rent Service, which was an agency of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister during the period covered. It transferred to the Department of Work and Pensions on 1 April 2004. The figures do not include the Fire Service College, where theinternal cleaning costs cannot be separated from the housekeeping" costs attributed to student occupation.
	This answer does not include the buildings occupied by Government offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.
	The costs for predecessor Departments are not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Local Government Finance

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate the total council tax revenueraised by local authorities from charging on empty properties in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04 and (c) 2004–05.

Nick Raynsford: It is provisionally estimated that just over £200 million is being raised by local authorities from charging council tax on long-term empty homes in 2004–05. Homes that have been empty for less than six months are exempt from council tax.
	Corresponding estimates for 2002–03 and 2003–04 are not available as information on empty homes collected for those years did not include a breakdown by council tax band, and estimates for the total amount collected are dependent on this breakdown.

Local Government Finance

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of total council tax revenue which will be raised by local authorities for charging on second homes in 2005–06.

Nick Raynsford: None. Information relating to council taxes and second homes in 2005–06 is not yet available.

Local Government Finance

Michael Foster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the annual revenue grant increase was for Worcester city council in each year from 1992–93 to 2004–05 in (a) real and (b) cash terms.

Nick Raynsford: The changes in revenue grant for Worcester city council in each year from 1993–94 to 2004–05 in (a) real and (b) cash terms are tabled as follows.
	
		Changes in revenue grant for Worcester city council
		
			  Cash £000 Real terms at 2004–05 prices Cash % change Real term % change 
		
		
			 1993–94 5,710 7,484 — — 
			 1994–95 6,285 8,120 10.1 8.5 
			 1995–96 6,271 7,873 -0.2 -3.0 
			 1996–97 6,329 7,688 0.9 -2.3 
			 1997–98 6,186 7,327 -2.3 -4.7 
			 1998–99 6,595 7,592 6.6 3.6 
			 1999–2000 6,686 7,533 1.4 -0.8 
			 2000–01 6,920 7,707 3.5 2.3 
			 2001–02 7,130 7,744 3.0 0.5 
			 2002–03 7,281 7,646 2.1 -1.3 
			 2003–04 7,387 7,545 1.5 -1.3 
			 2004–05 8,222 8,222 11.3 9.0 
		
	
	The cash figures have been deflated using the GDP deflator. Changes between years are not directly comparable because they do not take account of changes in function or funding.
	The data are as supplied by the local authority and for 2003–04 and 2004–05 are budget data what the authority anticipate they will be receiving. Data for 1992–93 are not available. The budget data for 2004–05 include a large amount for Planning developments", which will be funded by special and specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance".
	Revenue grants include special and specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance, SSA reduction grant, Revenue Support grant, Central Support Protection grant and Redistributed Non-domestic rates.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many departmental (a) canteens and (b) bars there are; and how much has been spent on the (i) running, (ii) staffing and (iii) supply costs of each in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (C) has two staff canteens and one bar, with the latter run by the sports and social club (SPARTA). None of these receive any sponsorship and they are provided at no cost to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Agencies provide two staff canteens, of which only the facility at the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol receives any sponsorship. The costs for the Planning Inspectorate facility are:
	
		£
		
			  Running cost Staffing cost Supply cost Total cost 
		
		
			 May 2002-March 2003 55,520 0 0 55,520 
			 April 2003-March 2004 48,174 0 0 48,174 
		
	
	These figures are exclusive of VAT, and include subsidies paid to contractors. The figures do not include sums recovered from other Government Departments.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Agencies provide three bars which are at the Fire Service College and are for the use of those attending residential courses. None of these receives any sponsorship and they are provided at no cost to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	This answer does not include the buildings occupied by Government Offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent on postage by the Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002. Since that date the following has been spent on postage in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (C).
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 May 2002-March 2003 297,846 
			 April 2003-March 2004 300,713 
		
	
	In addition the following has been spent by the Office Deputy Prime Minister's agencies, mainly by the Planning Inspectorate and by the Rent Service (which was an agency of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister during the period in question).
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 May 2002-March 2003 667,605 
			 Apr 2003-March 2004 649,074 
		
	
	These figures do not include VAT (where levied) or amounts recovered from other Government Departments. Postage includes franked or stamped items dispatched by Royal Mail or alternative provider, but not items dispatched by inter-departmental services (IDS), courier and inter-office vans. The figure for agencies includes a parcel service at the Fire Service College.
	It is the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's policy to dispatch mail by second class post, unless otherwise instructed by the originator.
	This answer does not include the buildings occupied by Government offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.
	The costs of postage for predecessor Departments are not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost of producing a staff identity pass was in the Department on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many staff identity passes have been reported lost or stolen in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The cost of producing an Office of the Deputy Prime Minister staff identity pass issued for long-term use in its headquarters buildings is £13.08. This includes materials, printing costs and staff costs for administration.
	Identity passes may need to be replaced for a variety of reasons including loss, theft, damage or change of name. Until April 2004, when procedures for issuing passes were changed, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister did not, as standard practice, record the reasons for the replacement of an identity pass. It is thus not possible to say how many were lost or stolen in each year. Data are only available for those that were reported .
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. The number of passes that were reported lost or stolen in each year since then are shown in the following table, together with the total number of replacement passes issued.
	
		
			 Period Replacement passes issued Passes recorded lost Passes recorded stolen 
		
		
			 1 June 2002–  31 December 2002 68 0 1 
			 2003 167 0 2 
			 2004 143 32 7 
		
	
	Procedures are in place to ensure that electronic passes are deactivated as soon as their loss is reported. In addition, pass designs do not identify the building or organisation.
	This answer does not include passes for buildings occupied by Government offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the equipment leasing arrangements entered into by his Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost is to public funds in each case.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was formed in May 2002. This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fire Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what consultation his Department has had with the West Midlands Fire Authority on proposed changes to night-time cover in the West Midlands region.

Nick Raynsford: As was made clear in the debate on 22 February 2005, Official Report, column 55WH, the introduction of Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMPs) in April 2003 allows fire and rescue authorities to target resources to address local risk, as well as to make the most effective use of their resources in preventing fires. Responsibility for the preparation of IRMPs lies with each individual Fire and Rescue Authority, having regard to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister.
	As well as setting out general principles and guidance, the National Framework makes it clear that each Fire and Rescue Authority should consult with interested parties in its area when preparing its IRMPs. The West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service has issued its proposal for the period April 2005 to March 2006, Your Safety our Priority" for consultation. There is no requirement or expectation for consultation with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in respect of IRMPs.

Fire Services

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he has been able to provide the information on the location of the South West Regional Control Centre and related property issues requested by the Head of Legal Services of the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Authority under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister responded to the request for information from the Head of Legal and Democratic Services of the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Authority on 3 February 2005 in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. There was no request for information on the location of the South West Regional Control Centre.

Planning

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many appeals are awaiting resolution at the Planning Inspectorate.

Keith Hill: The information requested is tabled as follows. It gives the number of appeals awaiting resolution at the Planning Inspectorate as at 23 February 2005 by appeal type and procedure.
	
		
			 Appeal procedure Planning appeals Enforcement appeals Planning—Listed Building and Conservation Area appeals Enforcement—Listed Building and Conservation Area appeals 
		
		
			 Written representation 10,189 907 401 78 
			 Hearing 2,891 446 170 23 
			 Inquiry 1,512 727 119 15 
			 Procedure not as yet confirmed 136 125 3 7

Targets

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by his Department; and, of these, which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 February 2005 by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Official Report, column 75W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum Seekers

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  who will manage education at asylum accommodation centres;
	(2)  who will be responsible for providing education facilities at asylum accommodation centres; and who will be responsible for making decisions on provision.

Des Browne: These will be matters for the contractors. The contract for the Bicester accommodation centre requires GSL to provide a number of services including the provision of on site education which mirrors that provided in mainstream education.

Asylum Seekers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken to remove individuals after all appeals to stay in the UK have been exhausted is.

Des Browne: Information about the average time taken to remove individuals after appeals to stay in the UK have been exhausted is not available for all case types.
	However, management information indicates that the average time taken to remove individuals who have exhausted all rights to appeal following an unsuccessful asylum claim is approximately 20 months. This figure relates to the period January to December 2004.
	This information has not been treated as quality assured and should be treated as provisional management information only.

Asylum Seekers

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of supporting asylum seekers awaiting a decision on whether they have a right to remain in the UK was in the latest year for which figures are available; and how many asylum seekers who have been refused permission to remain in the UK have not been removed from the country (a) because they are awaiting removal and (b) because they cannot be traced.

Des Browne: holding answer 4 February 2005
	In 2003–04 the cost of providing asylum support was £1,008 million. This figure includes the costs of supporting:
	those awaiting a decision on their claim for asylum;
	asylum seeking families who have received a final negative decision on their claim but who are still eligible to receive support; and
	other unsuccessful asylum seekers who are receiving support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
	It is not possible to readily identify the costs of providing support to families and those receiving support under section 4 from the total costs.
	Reliable information on the total number of asylum seekers who have been refused permission to remain in the UK and have not been removed, is not available, partly because some applicants may leave the United Kingdom without informing the Immigration Service.

Asylum Seekers

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers there are in North Durham.

Des Browne: Reliable information on the number of failed asylum seekers in North Durham is not available, partly because some applicants may leave the United Kingdom without informing the Immigration Service.

Biometric Data

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government's plans for the storage of biometric data on (a) passports and (b) associated databases exceed the requirements of (i)plans for the harmonisation of biometric storage on European passports recently agreed by the General Affairs Council of the European Union and (ii) plans agreed through the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Des Browne: The current plan in respect of passports is that the new ePassport will store a facial image biometric contained in a chip. This will not exceed the requirements of the EU standards set out in the recently adopted Regulation on security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents (15152/04). The inclusion of a facial biometric is also in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation standard.
	The biometric data will be held in a database used by current UKPS business processes and will be consistent with the data to be held in the new ePassport.

Community Support Officers (Huddersfield)

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Huddersfield constituency, on the effects on Huddersfield of the Community Support Officer Scheme, with particular reference to (a) the number of officers and (b) their impact.

Hazel Blears: I am informed by the Chief Constable, Mr.Colin Cramphorn, that on 1 February the Kirklees Area had 39 Community Support Officers. Of that number 26 are deployed to Huddersfield Division, which includes four Community Support Officers allocated to the District Antisocial Behaviour Unit that works across the Huddersfield and Dewsbury Divisions.
	The West Yorkshire Police has not carried out any analysis of the impact of the introduction of Community Support Officers in Huddersfield. However, I am informed that across Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Community Support Officers are achieving 79 per cent. of their duty time on visible patrol duties. An independent analysis has been undertaken by the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Leeds, Patrolling with a Purpose" in relation to the impact of the introduction of Community Support Officers in Leeds and Bradford and was published in July 2004.

Private Finance Initiative (Consultant Costs)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total external spend by his Department was on private finance initiative (PFI) consultants in each of the last two years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PFI consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by his Department over this period; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: From the best information available, the tables provide the details requested.
	
		2 Marsham street
		
			  2002–04 
		
		
			 Total external spend on consultants (£) 63,500 
			 Number of full-time equivalent consultants employed 0 
			 Number of billed consultancy days (22)44.5 
			 Implied average cost of each PFI consultant (£) 31,750 
			 Number of consultancy firms used 2 
		
	
	(22)Based on 7.5 hrs a day.
	
		Heat energy services in prisons
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Total external spend on consultants (£) 220,304.97 72,338.92 
			 Number of full-time equivalent consultants  employed 0.75 0.25 
			 Number of billed consultancy days 700 261 
			 Implied average cost of each PFI consultant (£) 19,550 7,713 
			 Number of consultancy firms used 11 4 
		
	
	
		Quantum
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Total external spend on consultants (£) 61,650 9,412 
			 Number of full-time equivalent consultants  employed 0.1 0.0 
			 Number of billed consultancy days 23.1 3.5 
			 Implied average cost of each PFI consultant (£) 2,670/day 2,670/day 
			 Number of consultancy firms used 1 1 
		
	
	
		Youth Justice Board
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Total external spend on consultants (£) 1,088,333 754,883 
			 Number of full-time equivalent consultants  employed — — 
			 Number of billed consultancy days — — 
			 Implied average cost of each PFI consultant (£) — — 
			 Number of consultancy firms used 12 11 
		
	
	
		DCMF prisons
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Total external spend on consultants (£) 499,344 245,897 
			 Number of full-time equivalent consultants  employed — — 
			 Number of billed consultancy days — — 
			 Implied average cost of each PFI consultant (£) — — 
			 Number of consultancy firms used 8 3

Departmental Policies

Brian Sedgemore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Havant constituency, the effects on Havant of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government have put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Havant constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
	For example, between March 1997 and March 2004, the number of police officers in the Hampshire police force increased by 328 from 3,452 to 3,780. Following the Government's introduction of Community Support Officers (CSOs) in 2002, Hampshire has been allocated funds to recruit 25 CSOs in the first quarter of 2005 to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour on Hampshire streets. Between 1997 and 2003–04, Hampshire police force has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 19 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 25 per cent.
	Hampshire Police will receive £197.7 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 3.75 per cent. (£7.2 million) over 2004–05. Hampshire benefits from the decision to provide a funding floor of 3.75 per cent. If the funding formula had been strictly applied, the force would have received £4.9 million less. General grants funding to Hampshire has increased by 31.5 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, Hampshire will also receive around £16 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives and capital provision in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the police authority and the chief constable.
	As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering Government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. Four CCTV projects in the Havant CDRP area received a total of £235,000 from the CRP.
	Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £569,288 has been allocated to Havant CDRP under these initiatives. A further £2.57 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office Regional Director in the South East for CDRP capacity building across the region.
	It is estimated that out of a million active offenders, 100,000 have three or more convictions and are responsible for half of all crime. There is a Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme in Havant set up to target those offenders who cause a disproportionate amount of crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in the community.
	The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In Havant a total of 26 antisocial behaviour orders have been issued as of 22 February 2005. Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp.
	Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and their policy is set out in the 10-year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government have invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focusing on the four strands of:
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	preventing young people from becoming problematic drug users;
	providing effective treatment to all who need it; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. Havant has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drugs Intervention Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for Hampshire Drug Action Team amounted to £5.48 million, rising to £6.47 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Havant constituency can be obtained from the Hampshire Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams.
	The Government are working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the futurebuilders fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen.org.uk.
	This year, 2005, is the year of the Volunteer which isbeing delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found at www.yearofthevolunteer.org.
	Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08, available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Departmental Policies

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Hull, North constituency, the effects on Hull, North of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government have put in placepolicies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Hull, North constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
	For example, between March 1997 and March 2004, the number of police officers in the Humberside police force increased by 186 from 2,045 to 2,231. Following the Government's introduction of community support officers (CSOs) in 2002, Humberside is in the process of recruiting 22 CSOs to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour on Humberside streets. Between 1997 and 2003–04, Humberside has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 27 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 18 per cent.
	Humberside police force will receive £118.9 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 3.75 per cent. (£4.3 million) on 2004–05. Humberside benefits from the decision to provide a funding floor of 3.75 per cent. If the funding formula had been strictly applied, the force would have received £0.7 million less. Humberside also gains around £0.2 million from the amending report for 2003–04, bringing the overall increase to 3.95 per cent. General grants funding to Humberside has increased by 27 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, Humberside will also receive around £8 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the Police Authority and the Chief Constable.
	As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. Three CCTV projects in the City of Kingston-upon-Hull CDRP area received a total of £5.75 million from the CRP.
	Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 crime and disorder reduction partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £2.2 million has been allocated to City of Kingston upon Hull CDRP under these initiatives. A further £1.8 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office regional director in Yorkshire and Humber for CDRP capacity building across the region.
	The Government recognise the important part played by communities in addressing the wider issue of the underlying gun culture. The Government's Connected Fund, launched in May 2004, is a non-bureaucratic funding stream designed to assist small local community projects across England, working to tackle gun crime and related issues, £515,000 has been given nationally so far. In Hull, the fund has paid for a series of workshops for eight to 13-year-olds, including talks from police about the negative impact of guns.
	The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In Kingston upon Hull a total of 61 antisocial behaviour orders have been issued as of February 2005. Hull is also one of 50 communities across the country that have been designated as 'Together Action Areas' and are set to get extra help to tackle antisocial behaviour. Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp.
	Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and their policy is set out in the 10 year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government have invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focusing on the four strands of:
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	preventing young people from becoming problematic drug users;
	providing effective treatment to all who need it; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. Kingston upon Hull has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drugs Intervention Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for Kingston upon Hull Drug Action Team amounted to £3.5 million, rising to £4.5 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Kingston upon Hull constituency can be obtained from the Kingston upon Hull Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams.
	The Government are working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the 'futurebuilders' fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen.org.uk.
	Through the Government's Time Limited Development Fund (TLDF), Willow—The North Hull Women's Centre, which covers one of the most deprived areas in Hull, has received £93,248. The Willow Centre works to increase women's self esteem, improve skills and employment prospects. The TLDF has helped to increase the numbers of volunteers recruited and improve the training and support given (both within Willow and for outside organisations). For the first two years of the grant, volunteers have numbered 110.
	This year, 2005, is the year of the volunteer which isbeing delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found at www.yearofthevolunteer.org.
	Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08, available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Departmental Policies

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Stourbridge constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on Stourbridge constituency.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government has put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Stourbridge constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
	For example, between March 1997 and March 2004, the number of police officers in the West Midlands Police Force increased by 895 from 7,113 to 8,008. The Government's introduction of Community Support Officers (CSOs) in 2002 has put 134 CSOs on West Midlands streets to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. Between 1997 and 2003–04, West Midlands has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 35 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 28 per cent.
	West Midlands Police Force is receiving £426.5 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 6.81 per cent. (£27.2 million) over this year. West Midlands also gains around £0.8 million from the Amending Report for 2003–04, bringing the overall increase to 7.0 per cent. General grants funding to West Midlands has increased by 34 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, West Midlands will also receive around £29 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the police authority and the chief constable.
	As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local Crime and Disorder reduction Partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering Government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. Four CCTV projects in the Dudley CDRP area (which includes Stourbridge) received a total of £286,459 from the CRP.
	Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £1.6 million has been allocated to the Dudley CDRP under these initiatives. A further £2.03 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office Regional Director in the West Midlands for CDRP capacity building across the region.
	It is estimated that out of a million active offenders, 100,000 have three or more convictions and are responsible for half of all crime. There is a Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme in Dudley set up to target those offenders who cause a disproportionate amount of crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in the community.
	The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In Dudley CDRP a total of 29 antisocial behaviour orders are currently in force as of 9 February 2005. Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp
	Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and its policy is set out in the 10 year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government has invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focussing on the four strands of:
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	preventing young people from becoming problematic drug users;
	providing effective treatment to all who need it; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. Dudley has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drugs Intervention Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for Dudley Drug Action Team amounted to £1.9 million, rising to £2.4 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Stourbridge constituency can be obtained from the Dudley Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams
	The Government are working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. For 2003–04 to 2005–06 Dudley Race Equality council is receiving a £291,431 Connecting Communities Grant from the Home Office to improve the access of black and ethnic minority people to jobs and services.
	Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the 'futurebuilders' fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen.org.uk
	This year, 2005, is the year of the volunteer which isbeing delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found at www.yearofthevolunteer.org
	Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08, available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Departmental Policies

Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Woodspring constituency, the effects on Woodspring ofhis Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government have put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Woodspring constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
	For example, between March 1997 and March 2004, the number of police officers in the Avon and Somerset police force increased by 428 from 2,989 to 3,417. The Government's introduction of Community Support Officers (CSOs) in 2002 has put 99 CSOs on Avon and Somerset streets to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. Between 1997 and 2003–04, Avon and Somerset has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 33 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 30 per cent.
	Avon and Somerset police force will receive £170 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 4.8 per cent. (£7.8 million) over 2004–05. General grants funding to Avon and Somerset has increased by 26.1 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, Avon and Somerset will also receive around £17.7 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives and capital provision in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the police authority and the chief constable.
	As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering Government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. One CCTV project in the North Somerset CDRP area (which includes Woodspring constituency) received a total of £64,000 from the CRP.
	Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £890,000 has been allocated to North Somerset CDRP under these initiatives. A further £1.98 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office Regional Director in the South West for CDRP capacity building across the region.
	It is estimated that out of a million active offenders, 100,000 have three or more convictions and are responsible for half of all crime. There is a Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme in North Somerset set up to target those offenders who cause a disproportionate amount of crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in the community.
	The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In North Somerset a total of 20 antisocial behaviour orders have been issued as of February 2005. Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp.
	Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and their policy is set out in the 10-year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government have invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focusing on the four strands of:
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	preventing young people from becoming problematic drug users;
	providing effective treatment to all who need it; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. North Somerset has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drugs Intervention Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for North Somerset Drug Action Team amounted to £793,149 rising to £976,550 in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Woodspring constituency can be obtained from the North Somerset Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams.
	The Government are working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the futurebuilders fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen.org.uk.
	This year, 2005, is the year of the Volunteer which is being delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found at www.yearofthevolunteer.org.
	Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08, available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Electronic Devices

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many electronic devices are owned by the Department, broken down by type.

Fiona Mactaggart: Information on the number and type of electronic devices owned by the Department is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Human Rights Act

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been brought against his Department under the Human Rights Act 1998; and what the cost has been in (a) legal fees to defend cases and (b) compensation payments.

Paul Goggins: It is not possible to provide a detailed answer without incurring disproportionate expense. The Home Office deals with over 200 judicial review cases a month.
	Many applicants rely on the Human Rights Act in addition to their other claims.
	Our records do not distinguish cases where the Human Rights Act is invoked from cases where it is not. Consequently we are not able to attribute particular fees or costs to such cases.

International Student Visas

James Plaskitt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average administration cost of granting an extension to an international student visa is.

Des Browne: The costs of processing student leave to remain applications are based on approved Treasury cost recovery guidelines.
	This means taking the full cost of providing the leave to remain service, including overheads, and dividing it by the volume of applications in order to arrive at a fee per application.

National Offender Management Service

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the effect on the number of civil service posts of the introduction of the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: 12 new posts have been created to manage the change programme and 10 new Regional Offender Managers have been appointed. The new National Offender Management Service (NOMS) headquarters is being redesigned by April 2005.
	Although there may be temporary increases in civil service posts over the next two years, NOMS remains committed to reducing civil service posts by almost 900 to reach a target of 2,540 posts by March 2007. To date, 50 per cent. of this reduction has been achieved.

National Offender Management Service

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an independent Chair will be appointed for each regional offender management area in England and Wales.

Paul Goggins: There are no such plans.

National Offender Management Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how duplication in terms of the provision of services and policies will be avoided following the creation of two arrangements for the employment of staff for the Probation Service under the National Offender Management Service arrangements.

Paul Goggins: No decision has yet been taken on the future employment status of offender managers or those providing interventions. In the fully developed National Offender Management Service model, it is expected that providers of services to offenders will be drawn from the public sector, private sector and the voluntary and community sector. Core policies and commissioning standards will be set centrally.

National Offender Management Service

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation on the role of the National Offender Management Service with trade unions he plans to undertake.

Paul Goggins: Consultation with trade unions on the role of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is taking place within the NOMS Joint Consultative Council (JCC). Three JCC meetings have taken place since November 2004 and a programme of meetings has been arranged for 2005.
	Consultation is taking place separately with employee representative bodies through the established Her Majesty's Prison Service, Central Home Office and Probation Service consultative arrangements.

National Offender Management Service

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the National Offender Management Service Programme Board last met; and what plans it has to meet.

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Programme Board met on 15 February 2005 and is scheduled to meet every fortnight.

Northamptonshire Police

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers, (b) community support officers and (c) wardens were employed by Northamptonshire police in (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 2003–04.

Hazel Blears: There were 1,169 police officers in Northamptonshire police at the end of March 1998 and 1,239 at the end of March 2004.
	Community Support Officers (CSOs) were introduced by the Police Reform Act 2002 and were not recruited by Northamptonshire police before March 2003. At the end of March 2004 there were 12 CSOs in the force.
	Wardens are generally employed by local authorities and not by police authorities. I am told that the Northamptonshire police authority is currently providing funding towards the employment of two wardens in Northampton as part of the Crime and Antisocial Partnerships Initiative.

People Trafficking

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2005, Official Report, column 1153W, on people trafficking, what administrative procedures would need to be put in place to collect this information; and if he will take the necessary steps to collect it.

Des Browne: In order to provide the requested information, we would need to set in place administrative and staffing arrangements to enable us to conduct a review of all relevant individual case files for the period. This would represent a disproportionate cost. I regret therefore that I will not be able to put these procedures in place.

Pieter Minnard

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations have been conducted into the decision to transfer Pieter Minnard to Leyhill open prison.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service has looked into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Minnard's transfer to Leyhill open prison. Mr. Minnard received an appropriate risk assessment and was found to meet the criteria for open conditions before his transfer to Leyhill prison.

Police

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the chief constable of the Essex constabulary about plans to merge the Southend and Rayleigh police divisions; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 21 February 2005
	Deployment of police resources and the structural configuration to support policing issues is an operational matter and therefore falls firmly within the remit of the chief constable. This is not therefore an issue which the Secretary of State would normally involve himself.

Police

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much total Government grant per capita was given to each police force in England in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The information is set out in the table.
	Government funding for police authorities is chiefly allocated using a funding formula that distribute resources on the basis of relative policing need. The formula is currently being reviewed to ensure it reflects modern policing needs. Funding is not, and never has been, distributed on a per capita basis.
	
		Government grant funding(23) per head of population(24) -- £
		
			 Force 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 94.52 96.85 97.60 101.29 112.31 110.22 117.39 120.77 
			 Bedfordshire(25) 95.82 96.93 95.42 99.91 107.94 115.13 117.69 120.44 
			 Cambridgeshire 84.24 87.30 89.35 92.80 103.72 100.60 111.81 116.00 
			 Cheshire 88.91 91.34 95.57 100.23 106.51 108.87 120.31 120.39 
			 Cleveland 122.58 132.06 134.19 140.03 149.03 158.15 168.44 175.11 
			 Cumbria 105.43 106.94 108.60 113.77 123.88 125.25 130.76 135.46 
			 Derbyshire 88.59 91.52 94.26 95.21 106.24 105.08 112.59 116.26 
			 Devon and Cornwall 88.03 94.04 96.17 100.10 109.74 109.40 113.28 116.67 
			 Dorset 81.70 85.94 88.70 87.33 94.50 93.65 98.53 100.74 
			 Durham 108.52 117.57 123.08 129.27 137.27 138.87 149.86 154.87 
			 Dyfed-Powys 89.53 91.34 91.32 96.95 110.74 111.64 114.57 118.27 
			 Essex(25) 90.59 88.26 90.52 92.21 98.03 101.92 106.25 108.17 
			 Gloucestershire 93.57 94.74 94.35 97.93 107.57 107.25 112.38 115.68 
			 Greater Manchester 125.21 129.03 132.87 137.74 153.33 152.00 170.22 173.81 
			 Gwent 102.95 106.10 111.61 115.73 126.18 129.56 138.57 142.41 
			 Hampshire(25) 87.91 92.20 94.15 97.52 104.24 107.44 117.24 116.75 
			 Hertfordshire3 90.49 91.73 97.52 94.07 101.20 101.12 106.09 109.56 
			 Humberside 108.87 114.29 114.32 120.40 129.41 128.70 139.33 143.30 
			 Kent(25) 96.07 99.44 100.23 105.36 114.39 115.83 127.30 126.86 
			 Lancashire 104.63 109.53 110.95 118.32 130.73 127.88 137.07 141.25 
			 Leicestershire 92.34 93.20 97.15 100.26 110.95 109.14 117.60 120.66 
			 Lincolnshire 88.35 84.49 88.14 94.19 97.01 103.85 103.26 105.18 
			 Merseyside 150.14 152.59 154.54 160.78 170.52 180.66 195.25 201.12 
			 Metropolitan(25) 211.79 212.42 213.96 227.70 243.70 261.46 282.32 286.29 
			 Norfolk 91.37 91.84 90.65 95.41 103.19 106.33 115.66 115.34 
			 Northamptonshire 87.97 90.37 91.62 96.41 102.33 102.91 113.48 112.38 
			 Northumbria 126.11 134.98 138.05 140.95 155.45 153.22 166.88 174.22 
			 North Wales 95.01 96.33 98.35 102.77 112.54 119.44 123.90 126.40 
			 North Yorkshire 85.44 90.25 89.77 90.97 101.44 98.66 103.85 106.81 
			 Nottinghamshire 106.07 108.74 114.03 116.53 120.55 127.38 133.93 138.00 
			 South Wales 115.87 117.36 119.86 123.00 132.89 135.82 141.69 151.08 
			 South Yorkshire 111.96 115.56 120.09 124.84 131.32 136.97 151.74 153.79 
			 Staffordshire 95.05 94.50 94.51 96.45 102.10 104.48 114.46 115.22 
			 Suffolk 81.66 84.42 89.14 91.93 102.94 100.07 107.25 109.52 
			 Surrey(25) 101.66 89.09 98.45 89.29 86.54 85.61 93.18 94.02 
			 Sussex(25) 90.44 93.48 95.87 96.93 102.97 107.57 113.67 116.26 
			 Thames Valley(25) 85.97 89.94 90.48 93.06 103.42 104.22 109.72 113.04 
			 Warwickshire 86.87 86.31 87.33 96.42 115.96 101.02 110.78 108.99 
			 West Mercia 82.23 82.82 86.62 91.42 108.57 97.88 101.72 103.67 
			 West Midlands 122.96 129.04 132.80 138.23 146.43 151.75 171.37 171.89 
			 West Yorkshire 115.77 119.90 122.66 129.50 136.76 142.78 152.91 157.36 
			 Wiltshire 90.79 91.08 91.08 95.26 103.05 102.92 106.93 109.35 
		
	
	(23)Government funding includes general grant (Home Office police grant, ODPM/Welsh Assembly Government Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates). It also includes specific grants: Crime Fighting Fund, Rural Policing Fund, Basic Command Unit funding, Community Support Officer funding (including, for 2004–05, funding from Round 1 of the Neighbourhood Policing Fund), Airwave, DNA Expansion Programme, Counter Terrorism funding (MPS only), Street Crime Initiative, Special Priority Payments and capital grants.
	(24)Source for resident population figures: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Welsh Assembly Government as used in the calculation of the police funding settlements.
	(25)The Home Office also funds 75 per cent. of the cost of the London and south-east allowances for all qualifying officers. These figures are not included within the totals.

Police

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total number of police force staff based in Milton Keynes was in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Information on police personnel strength at Basic Command Unit (BCD) level is collected annually and reflects the position at the end of March. Information on BCU strength for police (support) staff has only been available from March 2003 and is set out in the table. The deployment of police staff to BCUs is a matter for the Chief Constable (Mr. Peter Neyroud QPM).
	
		Milton Keynes (D) Division
		
			 As at 31 March Number of police officers 
		
		
			 2003 98 
			 2004 105 
		
	
	Source:
	Home Office Research, Development & Statistics Directorate

Prisons

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women gave birth in prison in each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: Full information is not available for thewhole period, but the available data show that in 2004,114 women gave birth while serving a prison sentence. Further information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) actions and (b) adjustments have been made by the Prison Service Headquarters to reduce the Prison Service overspend in the current financial year; and what (i) efficiencies and (ii) savings have resulted.

Paul Goggins: In December 2004 the Director General of the Prison Service wrote to all senior managers requesting that any discretionary spending be avoided, and that recruitment be restricted to whatever is essential to maintain a safe and secure operation of prisons or the basic operation of the Service. This was done with the intention of reducing expenditure in order to ensure that the Prison Service did not exceed its delegated budget in the current financial year.
	Each subsequent forecast of the spend for the year has indicated a lower overspend and the Service believes that final outturn will be close to budget.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners who declared themselves as Muslims in each of the last five years were (a) British nationals and (b) foreign nationals.

Paul Goggins: The nationality of Muslim prisoners received into prison establishments in each of the last five years, as recorded on the Prison Service central IT system, is provided in the table.
	
		First receptions of Muslims to prison establishments, by nationality—England and Wales 2000–04
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004(26) 
		
		
			 All 7,775 9,137 9,258 9,633 9,603 
			 British nationals 4,617 5,038 5,549 5,411 5,269 
			 Foreign nationals 2,992 3,866 3,481 3,954 4,155 
			 Not recorded 166 233 228 268 179 
		
	
	(26)Information for 2004 is to 30 November only
	Towards the end of 2004 the information on the religious affiliation of prisoners held on the central Prison Service IT system was comprehensively refreshed with updated information contained within the local IT systems in each prison establishment. This update had little impact on the overall population figures by religious group for most groups. However, it is estimated that the population of prisoners whose recorded religion was Buddhism or Muslim increased by around 1 per cent. each because of this data cleansing exercise.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners declared themselves to be of a particular religion when they entered prison in each of the last five years, broken down by religion.

Paul Goggins: The religious affiliation recorded on the prison establishments IT system for prisoners first received into prison establishments in each of the last five years are shown in the table.
	
		First receptions to prison establishments, by religion England and Wales, 2000–04
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 (27)2004 
		
		
			 All first receptions 128,866 130,934 135,820 135,042 123,849 
			 All Christian 70,971 70,620 73,471 72,636 62,606 
			 Anglican 46,553 45,237 47,313 45,718 38,328 
			 Free Church 1,427 1,746 1,685 1,599 1,312 
			 Roman Catholic 21,035 21,136 22,066 22,182 19,953 
			 Other Christian 1,956 2,501 2,407 3,137 3,013 
			 Buddhist 310 332 418 492 534 
			 Hindu 567 710 669 675 593 
			 Jewish 235 196 223 222 188 
			 Muslim 7,775 9,137 9,258 9,633 9,603 
			 Sikh 913 940 909 913 879 
			 Other non-Christian 290 283 364 418 515 
			 Non-recognised 205 259 307 313 321 
			 No religion 47,600 48,457 50,201 49,740 48,610 
		
	
	(27)information for 2004 is to 30 November only
	Note:
	Towards the end of 2004 the information on the religious affiliation of prisoners held on the central Prison Service IT system was comprehensively refreshed with updated information contained within the local IT systems in each prison establishment.
	This update had little impact on the overall population figures by religious group for most groups. However, it is estimated that the population of prisoners whose recorded religion was Buddhism or Muslim increased by around one per cent each because of this data cleansing exercise.

Research and Development

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure was made by (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which his Department is responsible on research projects by companies with headquarters in (i) the UK, (ii) other EU member states and (iii) non-EU states in each year since 2001–02.

Fiona Mactaggart: It is not possible to provide the information requested in respect of the core Home Office and its agencies. While it is possible to provide total expenditure on third party suppliers an analysis by supplier or category of supplier cannot be provided without additional investigation and at disproportionate cost.
	The Home Office currently sponsors the following agencies:
	Criminal Records Bureau
	Probation Service
	Prison Service
	United Kingdom Passport Service
	Only the Core Home Office and Passport Service have recorded expenditure on Research and Development within the period covered by the question and these figures have been provided in response to separate questions.

Research and Development

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which his Department is responsible have made on research and development by private sector companies in each financial year since 2001–02.

Fiona Mactaggart: It is not possible to provide the information requested in respect of the core Home Office and its agencies. While it is possible to provide total expenditure on third party suppliers an analysis by supplier or category of supplier cannot be provided without additional investigation and at disproportionate cost.
	The Home Office currently sponsors the following agencies:
	Criminal Records Bureau
	Probation Service
	Prison Service
	United Kingdom Passport Service
	Only the Core Home Office and Passport Service have recorded expenditure on Research and Development within the period covered by the question and these figures have been provided in response to separate questions.

Research and Development

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much (a) his Department and (b) each agency for which his Department is responsible spent on research and development with overseas Government laboratories or research establishments, including collaborative Government funded laboratories and research establishments, in each year between 2001–02 and 2003–04.

Fiona Mactaggart: It is not possible to provide the information requested in respect of the core Home Office and its agencies. While it is possible to provide total expenditure on third party suppliers an analysis by supplier or category of supplier cannot be provided without additional investigation and at disproportionate cost.
	The Home Office currently sponsors the following agencies:
	Criminal Records Bureau
	Probation Service
	Prison Service
	United Kingdom Passport Service
	Only the Core Home Office and Passport Service have recorded expenditure on Research and Development within the period covered by the question and these figures have been provided in response to separate questions.

Research and Development

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure was made by (a) the Department and (b) agencies for which the Department is responsible on research and development projects undertaken by organisations other than university departments, Government-funded research establishments and private sector companies in each year since 2001–02.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office currently sponsors the following agencies:
	Criminal Records Bureau
	Probation Service
	Prison Service
	United Kingdom Passport Service
	Only the Core Home Office and Passport Service have recorded expenditure on Research and Development within the period covered by the question and these figures have been provided in response to separate questions.

Sex Abuse (Interview Equipment)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the merits of using the video-link equipment available in prisons to record interviews between policeand imprisoned witnesses in historical sex abuse cases.

Hazel Blears: No assessment has been made of video-link equipment available in prisons for recording interviews between police and imprisoned witnesses in historical sex abuse cases. The Association of Chief Police Officers working group currently reviewing guidance to police officers conducting such investigations advise that any equipment meeting the 'Evidence Gathering By Camera Standards' set out in Home Office 'Achieving Best Evidence' can be used for interviews. In practice, where it is decided that an interview will be recorded, the police are likely to use accredited portable equipment or to take the prisoner to a dedicated site.

Visitor Numbers

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of bringing in a system of counting in and out visitors to the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The five-year immigration strategy that we announced on 7 February contained details of our plans through e-Borders to introduce an electronic system of counting in and out visitors to UK. The costs of this system, which we have not yet procured, are commercial in confidence.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Harcourt Developments

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions have taken place between Northern Ireland government departments and agencies and Mr. Phil Flynn since 1998.

Paul Murphy: No records exist of discussions between Mr. Phil Flynn of Harcourt Developments and the Northern Ireland Office or the Northern Ireland departments and agencies.

Harcourt Developments

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions have taken place between Northern Ireland government departments and agencies and Harcourt Developments since 1998.

Paul Murphy: A number of Northern Ireland departments and agencies have had discussions with Harcourt Developments in relation to the development of sites at a number of locations. Records indicate that the Northern Ireland Office has had no discussions with the company.

Housing

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding the Housing Executive has provided in each year since 2001 to assist local communities and residents groups in each Northern Ireland constituency; and what criteria are used to determine the allocation of funding.

John Spellar: The amount of funding for each financial year from 2001 is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year 
			 Constituency 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 1 April 2004 to 31 January 2005 
		
		
			 West Belfast 47,457 63,067 83,953 85,229 
			 North Belfast 10,000 20,952 40,091 22,255 
			 South Belfast — 5,500 15,900 10,600 
			 East Belfast — — 10,000 2,397 
			 Foyle — 8,291 23,000 23,800 
			 Strangford — — — 10,000 
			 Newry and Armagh 16,000 27,000 19,000 — 
		
	
	The constituency designation is based on the name of the group and/or the known area where it operates and compared with the names of the wards in that constituency.
	The criteria are as follows:
	i. The Community Group is properly constituted,
	ii. The need for community involvement is established,
	iii. The project is strategically relevant,
	iv. The project has clear and measurable objectives,
	v. A monitoring and review policy is in place,
	vi. Matched funding has been sought but not obtained or where funding is in place double funding does not occur,
	vii. The project offers additional benefits to community other than services currently offered by the local Council, Housing Executive (Estate Wardens) and Northern Ireland Tenants Action Project.

Knives

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in how many crimes in Northern Ireland knives were used in each year since 1997; and how many were committed by teenagers in each year.

Ian Pearson: The statistics are not available in the format requested. Figures for the period from 1 April 2001 are set out in the following table. Statistics regarding the number of teenage perpetrators are not readily available. To provide this information would require a manual trawl of records and would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		Notifiable offences recorded where a knife was involved in the incident(28)
		
			 Offence class 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 1 April 2004 to 21 February 2005 
		
		
			 Offences against the  person. 350 369 367 326 
			 Sexual Offences 8 4 7 3 
			 Burglary 25 31 39 20 
			 Robbery 365 431 324 229 
			 Theft 33 12 21 18 
			 Criminal damage 148 67 129 141 
			 Offences against the  State 85 71 91 120 
			 Other notifiable offences 2 2 7 0 
			 Total 1,016 987 985 857 
		
	
	(28)The figures relate to offences where a knife was involved in the incident—it is not known how the knife was actually used.

Media Grants

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the newspaper and broadcasting companies in Northern Ireland that have received grants from public funds or from Invest Northern Ireland since May 1997, stating in each case the Department or other body responsible for the grant, the purpose for which the grant was made and the sum of money involved.

Barry Gardiner: Information for the period 1 April 1999 to 31 December 2004 has been prepared and placed in the Library. Information prior to 1 April 1999 is not readily available.

Paramilitary Organisations

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to tackle criminal activities by paramilitary organisations.

Ian Pearson: In respect of organised criminality by paramilitary organisations, the Government's response is led through the Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF). It produces an annual Threat Assessment which informs the strategic priority setting of the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA). Expert Groups, involving both the LEAs and the Private Sector, work to develop measures and techniques to reduce the opportunities for organised criminality.
	In 2004, the first Cross Border Organised Crime Assessment was launched by both An Garda Siochana and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. This and the level of joint operational activity are tangible evidence of the effective co-operation occurring across the border.

Vehicle Recovery Scheme

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicles have been recovered in each police district command unit as part of the Managed Vehicle Recovery and Storage Scheme in each year since its introduction.

Ian Pearson: The Managed Vehicle Recovery and Storage Scheme was launched on 1 October 2004.
	The scheme uses a mapping system which is based upon deploying the nearest available recovery contractor to any given location and does not take account of District Command Unit boundaries therefore the figures are not available in the format requested.
	Between 1 October 2004 and 22 February 2005, 2,670vehicles were recovered under this scheme across Northern Ireland.